


White Noise

by Writer_Markilyn



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Bottom Byun Baekhyun, Dark-ish, Fluff and Angst, Human Byun Baekhyun, Human/Vampire Relationship, Like they had dated but broke up, M/M, Male Slash, Sex, Slow Burn, Solo Artist Park Chanyeol, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Top Park Chanyeol, Vampire Park Chanyeol, Vampires, and now they're reforming their relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-08-25 19:09:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 59,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16666570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Markilyn/pseuds/Writer_Markilyn
Summary: A lot can happen in six years.  For Chanyeol, it was how long he lived in California, four spent in a music school to get his degree, the other two years learning how to deal with his immortal situation.  He slowly shaped his life in six years and became an inspiring solo artist; he just wasn’t expecting his new world to stop so quickly with only one glance from a face from his past.





	1. Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> A late cross-post from my AFF account, I'm sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS!!!:
> 
> Death of a parent (they will only be mentioned in conversations);  
> Talks of poor mental health;  
> Family fights/abandonment (Only mentioned from characters);  
> Vague descriptions of sucide attempts (I will put a graphic warning for any chapters that go into depth); and  
> Blood play (MUCH later in the fic)  
> This fic won't be completely dark, I promise!!  There will just be some sensitive topics.

 

Chanyeol exhaled slowly as soon as he stepped out of the airport, the evening air at the Seoul airport was crisp; fall had completely taken over.  He rotated his shoulder to heft his duffel bag onto his shoulder more securely as he dragged his wheeled suitcase behind him to the loading bus that would take him to get his rental.

After loading his things on the suspended rungs, he helped the bagger man, who seemed very grateful for his help, Chanyeol just gave him a kind smile and made sure that everyone had their things carefully loaded up top before taking the single seat that was left and then shoved his earbuds in and turned on his playlist and let his eyes shut as the bus started to gently bounce down the road and onto the highway.

The ride was only about fifteen minutes, and soon he was helping haul bags down until he was the last one on the bus, he was fortunate that most of the people on the bus were middle-aged adults and elders, there were a few toddles, all of them in the age range where he wouldn’t be recognized and it allowed his trip to be stress free and the smell of people within his age smelled far too tempting, fresh faces, youthful and joyful, their life source humming vibrantly within their veins; it made his gums hurt.

The last feeding he had was a little over 15 hours ago, but usually Chanyeol could last days without needing to feed again and with that thought, Chanyeol exhaled slowly, plastered a confident and inviting grin on his face when he met the receptionist at the front to get the car he booked.

He greeted her kindly, he could practically taste the nerves that overcame her; she knew who he was and he mentally applauded her for keeping her composure and getting through the required check-in work, he bit back a grin as he saw her hands shake briefly when he handed her his credit-card and ID to confirm his name on the request.

 _Even though it’s not needed at this point._  Chanyeol thought gleefully and just leaned onto the counter, eyes tracing over the pale skin of her neck that was exposed due to her thick hair being tied up into a pretty bun with a cute flower clip pinning her bangs off the side. 

She’d certainly passed the cuteness bar and would have liked to chat her up, but Chanyeol wasn’t the one for bite-and-go flings, no matter how often Kris told him to stop acting like such an Elder and experience the wonders of willing donors and get that imbedded instinct soothed every once and awhile.

For being such a stereotypical Canadian, Kris sure wasn’t the type to consider feelings and wasn’t very apologetic, he had seen how Tao retaliated if Kris really stepped over the line; the couple were certainly intitled to each other, as Chanyeol also witnessed first hand if anyone had ever tried to talk down to Kris.

He wondered how Kris was doing, as he had still kept his phone off, not in a hurry to check his emails or answer any texts from managers.  Chanyeol was only curious due to the Canadian-Chinese man being his creator, in both the musical world and for what he was now. 

He remembered how antsy his maker was at the thought of Chanyeol leaving for Korea for a while, almost coming with Chanyeol, he thought it was cute and teased him lightly for it, which had Kris sulking and Tao just calling him over-protective. 

“Mr. Park?” the receptionist stammered slightly.

“Oh, sorry,” Chanyeol apologized and watched her cheeks turn red; he held his breath again.  “Jetlag,” he sighed, rubbing at the back of his head and smiled to her.

“Of course, you’re so busy flying to different places,” she blurted before covering her mouth with her hand.

Chanyeol laughed easily, “So you do know who I am!” he teased and saw her shakily nod.  “Well, you did your job so carefully, I figured I was still unknown and seemed like a mystery man,” he continued, even though he could practically taste the chemical change in the air of her nervousness of meeting someone famous and clearly someone she liked.

“T-thank you,” she bowered her head at his praise.  “I think you are well-known, despite most of your songs being in English.  There are many students who are fluent in that language, and admire you for making songs in English and Korean.”

Chanyeol thanked her for her kindness and took the keys she offered, “I will be back in two weeks,” he promised her.

She smiled and blushed under the warm grin he was giving her and then escorted him to where his renting vehicle was parked.  After she did a check-over of the vehicle with him she wished him a safe travel, “Thank you for choosing us, Mr. Park, I hope you continue to do so in the future.”

“I will,” Chanyeol winked and then packed his luggage into the hatchback of the jeep and climbed into the driver’s side and put on his sunglasses and then after syncing up his phone to the Bluetooth, he called his mother.

“Chanyeol!  I was wondering if you ever landed!” his mother’s voice came through the speakers, she picked up on the second ring.

“Sorry, Umma,” Chanyeol sheepishly apologized to her.  “I just picked up my rental, I’m going to stop through town first and then come to the house.  Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay, Sweetheart, be careful driving home, okay?  Umma loves you!”

Chanyeol smiled bashfully despite her not actually being there, “I love you too, see you soon,” he promised and disconnected the call.

He stopped in town and at the fairly local coffeeshop that he didn’t recognize, it must have been put up in the last couple of years since his last visit.  Chanyeol pulled the jeep into an open spot in the small parking lot that it had and slid out of his rental and pocketed the keys before strolling towards the shop and entered the warm building.

He took a quick breath and the scent of caffeine and fresh coffee beans wafted over him, he took a spot in line, eyeing the chalkboard at the front; he truly didn’t need coffee or anything really, but he still could absorb liquids for energy if he was unable to get blood; although, it didn’t have the same outcome if he drank blood.  He didn’t need to eat solids, as it sort of made him feel ill, especially if he ate solids in large quantities.

Chanyeol figured out what he wanted and now was casually looking over the area, he liked it; the shop had warm colors, it had turkey balloons hanging from the ceiling, reminding him that the holidays were just around the corner.  He heard a loud laugh that grated his ears slightly and his attention was brought to a man with eyes that were currently in crescents, who was the one laughing, at whatever the man with the sharp cat-eyes had said, his cheeks were puffed in his story and Chanyeol didn’t want to eavesdrop in, his eyes drifted to the last man sitting down, fiddling with his phone, but Chanyeol could still see that he had a faint smile on his lips.

The laughing man wrapped an arm around the sitting boy’s shoulders, squeezing lightly and the boy looking down suddenly lifted his face up to give the laughing boy a glare and elbowed him in the leg as that was all he could reach.

If Chanyeol’s heart still beat, it would have frozen in shock, he knew those mochi cheeks and droopy eyes anywhere; he had seen them everyday for almost his whole life, they were in the dreams he once had, they had been in his bedroom taking in the surroundings of Chanyeol’s quiet sanctum, Chanyeol had been the focal point at times, he witnessed the flickering emotions; happiness, sadness, anger, confusion…love.

A sudden flare of jealousy overcame him when he saw the same man latching onto the boy Chanyeol had once loved and called him his boyfriend; Chanyeol’s throat bobbed at the subconscious of what would have been his human emotions taking over that would have been followed by a burning feeling behind his eyes, but the only burning Chanyeol felt was the desire to break that new man’s arm and drain him dry.

Faint murmurs that slowly grouped together pulled Chanyeol from his murderous desire, he heard his artist name being whispered, people were starting to stare, and Chanyeol saw the group of attention he was drawing in, mostly school girls, a few boys were glancing at him too, but the only eyes he wanted to be looking at him were the eyes of his former lover; Byun Baekhyun.

His wish was granted moments later, Chanyeol would have normally felt his breath stutter in his chest when Baekhyun’s attention was on him, those eyes would be filled with warmth, those soft lips shaping the syllables of his name, but now, those lips pressed firmly together and those eyes were not filled with warmth, they were filled with nothing, staring blankly at Chanyeol like he did not know him.

That caused a breath to hitch itself out of Chanyeol and he saw that the two boys lingering with Baekhyun were also staring at him in confusion.

“… _Why is he looking at you like that?”_

_“Baek, dude, Loey is staring right at us!”_

Chanyeol whipped around when Baekhyun hadn’t reacted to either of them, just giving Chanyeol a silent stare that gave nothing away; the vampire fled the area in brisk steps back to his jeep, he didn’t even need a moment to collect himself, to calm his breathing or his pounding heart, as those were some of the perks of being a vampire, being undead, no longer needing oxygen, no longer having to soothe a frantic heart.

But, he still felt emotion, he still felt sadness and that’s what was pooling into his gut as he drove away, down the road that would take him to his mother’s house in twenty-minutes.

What happened to Baekhyun?  Why did he stare at Chanyeol like he was a stranger?

How much had changed in six years?


	2. Chapter 2

_EXO saved this year and I wanted to post another chapter!_

_~~~_

Chanyeol drove quickly to his mother’s, the trip didn’t even stick with him, too lost in thought to focus on his surroundings; he made it back to his childhood home by pure muscle memory.

He was quiet as he unpacked his bags and he heard the front door open and his mother’s joyful gasp.  Chanyeol set his things down as she came around the jeep, her hair was braided off to the side, she wore her yellow favorite sundress with a thick cream cardigan on top of it.  He smiled, but it wasn’t forced and wrapped his mother into his arms, “Hi, Umma.”

“My boy is so handsome,” she smiled, cupping his face.  “How was your flight and drive here?”

“It was fine,” Chanyeol said and collected his things when she stepped back.  “How have you been?  I know I just asked you yesterday, but I still want to know.”

“Sweetie, I’ve been fine, you worry too much!” his mother replied, holding the front door for him.  She took her slippers off at the doormat, Chanyeol doing the same with his Vans, “Your sister and nephew stopped by for a quick lunch the other day, they’ll most likely be here for dinner tonight; they’re both so excited to see you.”

Chanyeol smiled at the thought of seeing his sister and his little nephew; he had sent his nephew a couple things in the mail for his 5th birthday that had been last month.  “You raised a bunch of worriers, because you’re one yourself,” he reminded lightly and laughed when she huffed at him.

“I know that you’re probably tired from all of that traveling, I prepared your room for you,” his mother said.  “I’ll make a snack for you when you wake up, how does that sound?”

“That sounds great, Umma, thank you,” Chanyeol leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Ooh!  Your lips are so cold, go warm up!” his mother fretted, patting his bottom towards the stairs.

Chanyeol laughed and easily lifted his things and walked upstairs and down the short hall, towards the room on the right that was at the end.  If he could still blush, he would have when he saw that the old nightlight he hadn’t used since elementary school was still plugged in his wall at the foot of his full-sized mattress and the bulb must have been new, because it was a little bright, or his advanced eyes were being too sensitive.

He didn’t bother to unpack, just put everything at the foot of his bed and flopped onto his back to stare up at the ceiling that still had the stick-on, glow in the dark star stickers pasted there.  He didn’t need sleep, it served no purpose for him, which had been another great plus of being an immortal being when he had been in college, he was sure that it was the reason why he graduated with flying colors; too much time on his hands that he smartly used to study, sometimes for binging TV shows or videogames too, if he was being honest.

Chanyeol rolled over to his side and sighed, eyes fluttering shut; he breathed in slowly, the smell of clean sheets, his mother’s sweet smell, mixed with lingering perfume, Toben’s dog smell mixed with fresh grass, he could even still smell his sister’s scent that lingered from yesterday, along with the still fresh baby smell of Ki-Tae.

This was home, even before he could tell who was in his house, he knew these comforting scents by heart before he became a vampire; he pressed his face a little firmly in his pillow, he could faintly smell Baekhyun, thanks to his enhanced sense of smell and his mouth watered slightly as he breathed in deeply, eyelids fluttering softly as he drew in the extremely faint strawberry shampoo that Baekhyun had frequently used back in the day when they were in high school; Chanyeol could still recall how soft his ex-boyfriend’s hair felt against his face when he buried his nose into Baekhyun’s dark hair, under that, he could detect a scent that reminded him of early night, during summer, when it was cooling down, the sky changing into a pinkish-purple hue; a night that brought comfort and a promise of a good night’s sleep and pleasant dreams.

Chanyeol let out a slow breath and untucked his face from his pillow and stared at his closet door, not actually staring at it as he was lost in memory; he felt a sudden pit of guilt bubbling in his chest and he wondered _why_ he hadn’t thought of Baekhyun the moment when he decided that he was returning to Korea.

_Because he was part of your past as a human._

His brain unhelpfully reminded him, Chanyeol frowned; his mother was part of his human past, so was his sister and his nephew, and his mom’s dog Toben—she let Chanyeol name him—but he’d _never_ forget them, he kept in regular contact with his mother, he mostly spoke with his older sister during the holidays or for her or Ki-Tae’s birthdays.

So why had Baekhyun just…faded into the folds of memories, packed into a box and set into a corner to gather dust?  Only for feelings to reawaken like when the object you didn’t know you were missing was suddenly within your sights again.

“Because we broke up,” Chanyeol bitterly muttered to himself.  He sighed and ran a hand through his crimson hair to get it out of his eyes; he felt like he had been in that episode of _Girl Code_ when a girl said that girls do dramatic shit after a bad breakup, like changing their hair completely, getting a new wardrobe, deleting all social media, and then acting like a whole new person a month later.

Damn, if that hadn’t been him when Baekhyun said that he was done with their relationship the moment before Chanyeol could confess to the shorter that he was moving to L.A. to study abroad that was all paid for through his college and that Chanyeol had saved enough up to take Baekhyun with him so his boyfriend could stay with him for the first month of summer before Baekhyun departed his own college to pursue his own dreams as an actor.

Chanyeol had practically planned everything out, wanting to propose to Baekhyun when they’d graduate from college, hopefully get a studio and get a contract, start something with his life with the sole person who had been with Chanyeol, thick-and-thin.  Baekhyun had been Chanyeol’s first crush, first person he came out to, first date to their middle school dance, first kiss, the first person to fall head-over-heels for, first person to try pot with—somehow Yixing hadn’t been, a shock, _truly—_ first person Chanyeol shared a beer with, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had lost their virginities to each other, so many other firsts…and Baekhyun had been the first and only person to break Chanyeol’s heart.

The moment Baekhyun said that their relationship was over was when Chanyeol was about to take off for his flight to L.A., Chanyeol’s heart had stilled in his chest, the ticket he was about to gift Baekhyun suddenly felt like lead in his back pocket.

Baekhyun couldn’t even look him in the eye when he said that he was breaking up with Chanyeol, his head stayed low, shaggy fringe blocking his eyes, his shoulders had been taut, delicate looking hands drawn into tight fists.

It didn’t take much for Chanyeol to know that Baekhyun was crying and Chanyeol only whispered, _“Why?”_ too afraid to speak any louder because even though his heart was turning into dust because of the shorter, he could never yell at Baekhyun, not even when Baekhyun had accidentally deleted one of tracks Chanyeol had been working on for a school project.

“Because you’re moving to America, you’re too far away, you’ll just leave me anyway,” Baekhyun had whispered, voice breaking towards the end.  “What’s the point of making this relationship work when I’ll just be thrown to the side?”

“I would never do that to you,” Chanyeol had sworn, tone biting and he saw Baekhyun flinch.  “You think so little of me?”

“Distance changes people, Chanyeol, you would know that better than anyone,” Baekhyun refused to look Chanyeol in the eye when he had spoken those words.

“So, you think that I’d be like my father?” Chanyeol demanded.  “You think that I’d just fuck off without a word and abandon you?” he felt his throat constrict; Baekhyun knew that Chanyeol worried becoming like his father, it was why Chanyeol was so clingy and made sure to always remind his mother and his sister how much he loved them and always texted Baekhyun and gave him affection almost every second of the day. 

It had hurt to hear those words and Chanyeol had wanted to yell at Baekhyun for even assuming that Chanyeol would be anything like his father, but instead, Chanyeol swallowed back those tears, asked if he and Baekhyun could at least be friends.

Baekhyun agreed with that.

But they never texted each other, Chanyeol had sent one ‘ _I miss you’_ text two months after their breakup, the text he had been eagerly waiting for never came, but an automatic text from the phone company Baekhyun used, stating that the phone Chanyeol tried to contact was now an unused number.

Chanyeol had given up then and threw himself into his studies and his dreams he wanted to achieve, with some altering now, but nonetheless, something he wanted since he had been a kid and now here he was: a successful, lonely vampire music artist, currently lying on his childhood bed, remembering his first love.

He can’t say he didn’t try after his breakup with Baekhyun, it took a year and a half to even think about going out with his friends to hit the clubs, another four months before he even let himself think about touching another person; he had a somewhat stable second relationship when he had turned twenty, his new boyfriend was a French major at a different college that was a twenty minute commute; talented with his tongue?  Yes.  Funny and quirky?  Yes.  Soft-faced, yet feisty?  Yes.  Practically a clone of Baekhyun, but an American version?  Check and check.

It was why Chanyeol ended their relationship that had only lasted a month, he figured that he could get his own closure by ending it with Braden—Chanyeol wanted to cry that even their names started with B—and he felt guilty for using the other like that and even after it was all said and done, Chanyeol still felt hollow inside after that and went back to his studies and then that’s when he met Kris and Tao and made his first major label as the solo artist _Loey_ at 22.

Now, two years later, here Chanyeol was.  He can’t say that he purposely forgot Baekhyun, Chanyeol was just busy with his career and whatnot, too busy with his new lifestyle and altercation of his condition to remember former emotions.

He sat up and dragged a hand down his face, but now, after seeing Baekhyun’s face after six years, all those past feelings came rushing the surface and Chanyeol didn’t think he was going to be able to sweep them under the mat anytime soon.  He sulked for a while, before making himself get up and head back downstairs; he could smell noodles, fresh pork cuts, barbeque, and the bland smell of plain rice, normally, his mouth would be watering, had he been human and craving his comfort food, something his mother always knew how to pick up on.

“Umma,” he called and saw his mother startled slightly.  He gave her an apologetic grin, “Sorry, I was a bit restless, has Toben been walked today?” he asked her.

“Earlier this morning, but he’s due for an evening one,” his mother said.  “Are you sure you want to go out?  It’s barely been an hour since you laid down.”

“I’ll be fine,” he promised, collecting the leash and stepped out the back door that was attached to the kitchen, he whistled and saw a black blur dart out from the cute doggy house that was built under the shade of the large oak tree in the backyard.

Toben stilled had the energy of a puppy even though he was almost four, the stumpy tail was wagging at a breakneck speed when Chanyeol got to one knee, deep voice hitched up in a cooing tone.

Chanyeol smiled as he patted Toben’s belly, “How’s my good boy?” he murmured and chuckled as the poodle yipped excitedly.  He carefully leashed Toben and stood back up, “I’ll be back, Umma, we’re just going to go around the block.”

“Okay, be careful,” his mother smiled and resumed back to cutting up vegetables.

Chanyeol didn’t have to prompt the poodle to follow, Toben stayed close and then they were out the front door and Chanyeol looked over for any new changes, he saw that his neighbor’s old tree had been cut down and replaced with a flowerbed, the buds had shriveled due to the cold, but he imagined that they would look nice in the spring.

The road had been repaved, which he noticed that when he had been driving home, the sidewalks hadn’t changed much, he passed the lake that he and some of his friends had gone to go catch frogs; it had been actually the first place where he kissed Baekhyun; he made himself think of something different.

Even if he had planned on shoving the past memories of Baekhyun off to the side, his engraved habit of walking to said former boyfriend’s house still remained and within five minutes of walking, he was stood at the mailbox of Baekhyun’s house.

Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw that the Byun’s didn’t have their name on the mailbox that had once been painted yellow, but was now just a simple white, the house was no longer a Robin’s egg shade of blue, it was also just the boring white; he didn’t recognize the car that was in the driveway either.

He saw Toben sniffing at the mailbox pole and Chanyeol inhaled slowly himself, he smelled strangers, nothing had a scent that could have been associated with Baekhyun or his family.

Chanyeol glanced around himself and frowned, nothing else had changed, so why had Baekhyun’s home completely changed?  He perked slightly when he heard the front door unlock and a man Chanyeol couldn’t recognize stepped out the front door, the middle-aged man gave Chanyeol a cursory glance, nodding at him in greeting.

The solo artist just gave him a tightlipped smile and waved a hand before watching the man climb into the minivan, Chanyeol took that as his cue to leave and murmured for Toben to follow him.

Chanyeol backtracked home after that, a frown on his face.  He unleashed Toben once they were inside and his dog darted into the kitchen to lap up water from his bowl.  Chanyeol put the leash on the hook by the backdoor again and washed his hands, “Umma?” he called.

His mother poked her head out of the living room, “That was a quick walk,” she mused, coming back into the kitchen to check the soup and stirred it lightly before placing the wooden spoon back down.

“What happened to Baekhyun’s house?” Chanyeol asked.

His mother blinked at him curiously, “Didn’t he tell you?”

Chanyeol hid his grimace, as far his mother knew, she knew that they broke up, but thought that they still talked to each other regularly.  He shook his head, “No, we don’t really talk like we used to,” he mumbled.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, I didn’t know,” his mother apologized meekly, she took Chanyeol’s hand into her own.  “Aish, you should have worn gloves!” she chided.

“But what happened?” Chanyeol prompted her.

“Mm, Baekhyun’s mother got really sick and had to stay at the hospital, that was a few months after you had left to go to the States,” his mother said.  “It was about six months after her transition that Mr. Byun sold the house so they could live closer to the hospital she had to stay at.  I don’t know much, but…oh, I shouldn’t bring it up, but Yoora’s husband works at the hospital, he said that Baekhyun was temporarily put in the psych ward.”

Alarm spiked through Chanyeol and he gazed intently at his mother, “Why was he put there?” he demanded.

“I don’t know if was related for him being placed there, this was a about four years ago, but I saw his mother’s name was in the memorial section,” his mother murmured, frowning; she knew Baekhyun’s mother quite well and they had cooked together during the holidays.

“I didn’t know anything,” Chanyeol whispered.

“I’m so sorry, I figured Baekhyun would have told you, I didn’t want that to be a topic that I brought up,” his mother apologized again.  “He used to stop by, but I haven’t seen him in a few years.”

Chanyeol shook his head, his heart hurt and that was weird; he hadn’t felt actual pain like that in two years.  He just dropped his hand from his mother’s, “You haven’t seen him since?”

“No,” his mother answered.  “Not to be harsh, sweetheart, but if you haven’t spoken to him for a long time, why does him moving bother you?”

“Old feelings, I guess,” Chanyeol shrugged, averting his gaze and he could practically taste the sorrow that saturated the kitchen.  He let his mom run her fingers down his cheek soothingly, as she did when he was sad after a day of school.

“I’m sure if you called him, he’d like to meet up with you,” his mother told him.  “You haven’t changed much, I don’t think he probably has either.”

 _He looked at me like I was just a stranger._   Chanyeol glumly thought, but he still pouted at his mom’s words, “Am I still childish?”

“With those pouty cheeks, you are,” his mother teased, pinching his face playfully.  She let go at his whining and kissed his cheek where she had pinched and gave him a loving smile, “I think he’ll be happy to see you.  You two were so close, I was almost expecting a wedding invitation.”

Chanyeol laughed and pushed that hurt away; he wasn’t about to tell his mother how he actually planned a future with Baekhyun.  He told her that he was going to wash up and then help clean up the knifes and other utensils his mom used to prepare dinner with.  Chanyeol grabbed a warm sweater that didn’t smell like airport and a pair of jeans before going to the bathroom to take a hot shower to help clear his head, and clear any fearful thoughts of hiding from Baekhyun, after all, Chanyeol had forever to be the mature adult, and it wouldn’t hurt to start being that mature adult now.

 


	3. Chapter 3

** Three **

Dinner was simple, yet something that Chanyeol needed; family bonding.

The lingering sadness that clung to him evaporated the moment he hugged his sister and then his nephew, who was excitedly chattering on about the cool dinosaur toys Chanyeol had sent him. Ki-Tae was practically a carbon copy of Yoora, and Chanyeol loved that, because his sister and his mother were the main supporting people in his life.

Yoora held Chanyeol’s hand and asked about his life, she knew it was a question most people their age hated being asked, and she only did it to be funny and Chanyeol knew that too, as he pouted at his sister’s teasing smile.

“It’s the same, Noona,” Chanyeol sighed.

“Yea, but you’re a popstar, like, almost a K-Pop idol here,” Yoora said.  “Your life can’t be that boring!”

“You can’t say yours isn’t boring either, you have a husband and a cute kid _and_ you’re an anchor!  You get exciting stuff daily,” Chanyeol reminded her. 

“Nothing exciting like how my little brother’s first album is still being top sold in the solo artists department,” Yoora poked his cheek.  “C’mon, you’ve got to have some fun stories about parties you went to!”

“No, Kris sort of forbade that, he and Tao are like the two annoying dads that I needed for the music industry,” Chanyeol sighed.  _And the fact that the one party I went to, I got bit by a vampire and now live a liquid diet lifestyle…_

He’d keep that one to himself, he didn’t need to send his mom and sister into an early cardiac arrest.

“Kris Wu?” Yoora asked him, surprised.

“I work with him,” Chanyeol said, moving to help his mother place the kitchen table.  “I wrote a few songs and he reviewed them, helped tweak them and he overviews my other managers to make sure they’re not doing anything shady.”

His mother frowned at that, “Are people that cruel?” she asked him.  “Who is to say that this Kris Wu isn’t of the same shady people?”

“Trust me, Umma, he isn’t,” Chanyeol reassured her, voice a little stern and he hastily started to pour them drinks.  He knew that Kris would rather take a stake to the heart than ever become a power-abusing producer and Tao was the same, the vampire was much older than Chanyeol, obviously, but Tao had little restraint to those who stepped on his turf or accused Kris of something nasty.

Chanyeol witnessed first hand what happened to those people and after they were dealt with, no one asked questions; he didn’t have to worry about someone slandering his name or trying any funny business.  Kris and Tao completely had his back, as he had theirs; vampire bonds weren’t something to tread lightly on, and Chanyeol was Kris’ second member of his direct Coven, Tao being the first.

He had informed Chanyeol that there were much older Covens who still resided in Korea, but Kris said that he wouldn’t be bothered as long as Chanyeol was behaved and didn’t feed on random civilians.

Yoora took a drink of her tea before standing, “I’m going to get Ki-Tae,” she said, heading off to the living room where the TV could be heard.

Chanyeol divided the cooked rice into smaller bowls and passed them to his mother, he separated the soup as well and then divided up the cooked pork, “Thank you, Umma, I will eat well,” he said as he finished placing the dishes down where each person would be sitting.

His mother smiled, “I figured you’d like your comfort food.”

“But I’m not sad,” Chanyeol said.  He beamed happily when he saw Ki-Tae coming into the kitchen, “Ready to eat, Little Man?” he cooed.

Ki-Tae nodded happily and sat in the booster seat that his mother lifted him into.  He snatched up his colorful fork and spoon, clicking them together excitedly until his mother hushed him, but he and Chanyeol still shared mischievous grins.

The small group said prayer and Chanyeol just hid in his grin when he peeked and saw his nephew nibbling on a tiny piece of pork before ducking his head down.

“Chanyeol, you barely have anything on your plate,” his mother fretted and began to scrape more pork onto his plate that he let her pile on top of the four small pieces he had on there already.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you, I am on a strict diet,” Chanyeol informed them.

“Really?  Because you look thin enough,” Yoora pointed out.  “You felt skinny when we hugged.”

His mother waved her spoon at him, “Diet or not, you’re too skinny!  Boys and girls like healthy looking people, not poles!  What do you young ones say today?  You like them thick?”

The siblings cracked up and Chanyeol nearly fell out of his chair, while his sister was cooing at how adorable their mother was.

“Okay, okay,” Chanyeol relented, still chuckling, and nibbled at the food when he knew he wasn’t about to choke; he was proud that he didn’t grimace, as this was going to come back to haunt him.

He was extra grateful that Ki-Tae distracted his sister and his mother throughout dinner, excitedly babbling on about the cartoon he was watching and was cutely asking for more pork and noodles, and that allowed Chanyeol to flick pieces of pork to Toben; his dog needed the extra pounds anyway.

His phone pinged from his pocket and Chanyeol pulled it out to look at it and saw that he had an email from his manager, asking him if he was able to go do a photoshoot with their Korean company that manufactured Chanyeol’s album artwork, including photography shoots for his part-time modeling gig for additional sells.

Chanyeol had never directly gone to where his photos would be examined and put together for the booklets, they had an American company in L.A. too, but they usually had to go through Kris first, so Kris must have liked the Korean company better, as he had been carbon copied on the email.

He knew his mother had work tomorrow morning and wouldn’t be back until four in the evening, and he hated that he was already a little bored.  He replied that he’d go to the office and Kris emailed back almost immediately with the time and contact information.

“Yah, you’re ignoring us!” Yoora whined, smacking her brother’s arm.

“Sorry, sorry, work wants me to go do a photoshoot tomorrow around noon and Kris said he wanted me to look at the final draft of my album work,” Chanyeol explained, pocketing his phone.

“Aish, don’t they know that you’re on vacation?” his sister asked him.  “They’re over working you!”

“Actually, this is a slow period,” Chanyeol told her.  “Work will start to pick back up around Christmas, as I’ve already prepared a holiday album and did some cover songs.”

His mother looked happy, “Oh, I love your holiday songs!”

Chanyeol blushed; his mother was his biggest fan, “I’ll be sure to send you the first copy, Umma.”

She pinched his cheek fondly and Chanyeol listened to his sister whine that she wanted one too.

After that, dinner wrapped up and Chanyeol helped clean up after setting Toben in his dog bed; he may have stuffed the poor thing, as Toben was now in a food coma and rolled onto his back in his fluffy dog bed.

When everything was cleaned and put away, Chanyeol had one last conversation with his sister and hugged her and his nephew farewell, carrying Ki-Tae to the car and got him buckled in, his mother was hugging Yoora goodbye and then had traded spots with Chanyeol, so she could kiss her grandbaby goodnight.

“You take care yourself,” Yoora said, hugging Chanyeol tight.  “I’ll be sure to visit you again before you leave.”

“I look forward to it,” Chanyeol smiled.  He waved goodbye to Ki-Tae before following his mother to the porch and they both waved until Yoora’s car vanished around the corner.

His mother yawned sleepily, “Oh, I think I need to head to bed anyway…I have to wake up early,” she murmured.

“Is your café still running smoothly?” Chanyeol asked as he locked up the front door.

“Mmhm, you should stop by, we just repainted a couple weeks ago and got new furniture,” his mother said.  She stepped over to Chanyeol and kissed his cheeks and forehead, “I hope you have fun tomorrow, will you be back for dinner?”

“I will visit,” Chanyeol promised, “Yes, it should only take a couple hours at most.”

“Okay, sweetie, I’ll see you tomorrow when I get back home,” his mother bid him a goodnight before heading upstairs. 

Chanyeol did the same after doublechecking the doors and windows—his mother had a habit of leaving the windows cracked—and checked over Toben before heading upstairs to his room.  He dressed into loose sweatpants and a loose shirt before crawling under the blankets; he didn’t sleep, but he could rest his eyes and fall into a light meditative trance that helped stave off any prolonged desire to feed and did rejuvenate him.

He let his eyes slip shut and exhaled slowly, letting himself fade off and soon he was submerged into darkness; he would never dream, which was something was actually grateful for.

~~~

Chanyeol snapped out of his meditation the moment the sun broke over the horizon; the sky was still milky and gray, he could taste the cold air without even being out in it and the human side of him knew this would have been a perfect day to just lounge in bed all day.

He heard his mother getting ready, heard her hanging the damp towel over the towel rack to dry, he let his eyes slip close again when he heard her soft humming as she was probably picking out an outfit for the day, as the hangers clicked together occasionally.

He waited until his mom was gone before finally crawling out of bed, he showered slowly, as he had four hours until he actually had to leave, as it took about 30-minutes to get to the city.  He got dressed in his planned outfit that was just going to be a leather jacket over a deep maroon sweater and he’d wear his black skinny-jeans that had rips in the knees and dark brown boots; it was fall and chilly and he knew his fanbase loved him in sweaters as much as they loved him in sleeveless shirts.

After playing on his PSP to pass the time, he finished getting ready by styling his hair a little bit before heading downstairs to let Toben outside, grabbed his satchel that held his laptop, headphones, and his music book, made sure he had his phone, wallet, and keys and then he was out the door and driving his jeep, while looking at the directions on how to get to the graphics company.

He was worried that the drive was going to be rough, as in traffic, as Seoul wasn’t the best place to drive, especially in the heart of the city, but he was lucky that the company wasn’t basically in the downtown area, he was able to avoid the congested roads and found a parking garage that was across from the tall building, the office he was supposed to go to was on the fifth floor and he stepped inside the office on the ground floor.

He was expecting the place to be flashy, even on the main floor, but there was only a directory that was lit up by the secretary in the middle of the floor and he knew this company also did work for the entertainment industries of the K-Pop community, as he recognized the name of the company.

Chanyeol already caught a couple stares as he was walking to the elevator and hit the floor 5 button, he leaned back against the railing and breathed in the stuffy air; wrinkling his nose at the smell of combined sweat mixed with coffee and doughnuts.

The door pinged and Chanyeol stepped off the elevator and it took him straight to the lobby; he felt like he was in a doctor’s office because there was a waiting room, a receptionist’s desk, and single door that had a swipe-key set up.

He walked to where the front desk was and saw a girl texting away on her phone, “Uh, hi,” Chanyeol greeted her and he saw her almost drop her phone in shock; she was in her early twenties, this was probably an internship, Chanyeol guessed, because he saw college text-books stacked under some folders.

“Park, Chanyeol?” she asked him.

Chanyeol nodded and gave her a comforting smile, seeing the shakiness in her hands, “I’m here for an appointment, with um…Mr. Kim?” he was reading the email off his phone.

The girl immediately grabbed the landline phone and called her boss, “JunMyeon, Sir?  Mr. Park is out it the lobby.  Okay, yes, sir, okay, thank you,” she hung up a little hastily and was still giving Chanyeol a stare like he personally hung the moon and stars up every night.  She blinked and suddenly sat up straighter, “Oh, sorry, Mr. Kim will be right out.”

As soon as she said that, the wooden door was being pushed open and man almost half a head shorter than Chanyeol stepped through, his hair was parted off to the side, he wore business casual clothes, button-up tucked into his pressed slacks, and he smiled brightly when seeing Chanyeol.

“Mr. Park!  Good afternoon,” Mr. Kim greeted the solo artist happily.  He looked over to the receptionist, “Thank you, Ms. Kee,” he said with a warm smile.  He waved Chanyeol back to the back office, “Thank you for taking the time to come the office.  Mr. Wu said that you were on vacation and I was a little hesitant to have one of our other supervisors email you,” he said sheepishly.

Chanyeol could tell that he was sincere and Chanyeol respected him instantly and gave him a reassuring smile, “It’s not a problem, Mr. Kim, my family is busy today, so I would have been doing nothing.”

“Oh, please, call me JunMyeon, or for whatever reason, my staff calls me Suho,” JunMyeon said.

“We’ve told you, Boss, it means _Guardian_ ,” a passing employee said and stood before the two and handed JunMyeon a folder.  He smiled brightly to Chanyeol, “He’s like an overprotective dad, we all swear it.”

“Oh, hush, Jongin,” JunMyeon grumbled, slapping him lightly with the folder.  He still thanked the young man for the folder of the project that Jongin asked him to review for him. 

Chanyeol watched Jongin say his farewells, he said goodbye too before looking at JunMyeon, “You have a nice crew here,” he commented.

“Yea, most of the time,” JunMyeon said, leading Chanyeol towards his office.  “Unfortunately, my top best two are the brattiest people I know, one of them is excusable, the other, I swear, he left the womb angry,” he sighed.

Chanyeol laughed at that and sat down in one of the chairs that was across from JunMyeon’s desk and glanced over his office, just seeing certificates in nice frames, a picture frame on his desk that Chanyeol couldn’t see who was displayed, his office was nice and had shelves that contained books and knickknacks.

“Which is why I’m apologizing in advance,” JunMyeon said as he was sorting Jongin’s file.  He sat down in his chair and suddenly had a professional aura about him, “Those two are the best damn photographers and graphic designers I’ve ever had in my office, which is why they’re my main go-to.”

Chanyeol swallowed uneasily, “Anything I should be aware about?”

“They seem like they hate everything and everyone within seconds, but they aren’t like that, they’re just indifferent,” JunMyeon said.  He glanced at his watch, “Sehun is out of the office already on a project, but my top designer is in today, I cleared his schedule so he could focus on working on your photos.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol blinked; he could deal with one of them.

“Baekhyun should be in his office, shall I get you aquatinted?” JunMyeon asked as he quickly checked his email.

Coldness sapped through Chanyeol and he just stared at JunMyeon, “Byun, Baekhyun?” he hoarsely asked.

JunMyeon tilted his head curiously, “Yes, how’d you know?”

Chanyeol gave him a weak shrug, “I saw some of his work before.”

“Oh!  It would make sense, I personally assigned him for any of your incoming work,” JunMyeon smiled brightly.

 _Then is that why he gave me such a cold stare?_   Chanyeol wondered to himself; maybe Baekhyun was sick of seeing his face, because Chanyeol did get to accomplish his dreams and Baekhyun was employed at a graphic design office.

“Well, let’s get going, he’s a stickler about time, something I wish the others had,” JunMyeon said, laughing to himself and gestured for Chanyeol to follow him back out into the main hall.

Chanyeol tuned the shorter man out, he breathed in slowly and he fought back a shiver; he could practically taste Baekhyun’s scent, it layered heavily over the other smells the closer they got to his private office.

JunMyeon stopped in front of a dark wooden door, knocked twice, waited a few seconds, sighed to himself, before pushing the door open and put his hands on his hips at the sight of Baekhyun half turned away from the door, sound-canceling headphones on, and his head was down, as he was working on something on his tablet and then would glance up at one of the Apple monitors that was in front of him.

Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun could sense them, but was choosing to ignore them; it was a big _fuck off_ vibe and Chanyeol would have happily done so if JunMyeon hadn’t knocked on Baekhyun’s desk and finally, the young man faced his boss.

JunMyeon waited until Baekhyun pushed one earphone off to the side, “Baekhyun, so glad that you’re not actually blind and deaf,” he greeted him, a tight smile on his face.  “Remember your project I assigned you to?”

“You’ll have to specify,” Baekhyun spoke for the first time.  “You load me down with simple shit that the rest of the office seems to be too incompetent to handle.”

Chanyeol was glad that he hadn’t reacted to hearing Baekhyun’s voice for the first time in over six years; his voice was slightly deeper, smoother from when Chanyeol had last seen him, but his voice was not as deep as Chanyeol’s.

JunMyeon clicked his tongue, “Language, Baekhyun,” he chided.  He stepped to the side, “Well, this is the project that I could only entrust to you,” he smiled and gestured to Chanyeol, who was awkwardly shifting behind JunMyeon, who couldn’t have hidden Chanyeol’s looming form if he tried, it was obvious that Baekhyun was ignoring his presence in general.

Baekhyun finally slid his gaze from JunMyeon to give Chanyeol the same blank stare he gave him the other day, “How wonderful,” he muttered dryly.

If Chanyeol weren’t already dead, he’d wish that he was dead for real this time.

JunMyeon was still smiling, “Good!  I think the park will be a nice area for you to have your photoshoot and after, you two can go through the pictures and decided between yourselves what ones will look best!”

Baekhyun just nodded, even though he wasn’t really listening; it was a default thing he did when he wasn’t in the mood to actually listen to people.  He turned away to save his work and shut down his computer and put his tools up with great reluctance and was moody because it was extra cold today he didn’t want to leave the warmth of his office.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, was freaking out because it sounded like JunMyeon was trying to set them up on a date for the whole afternoon.

JunMyeon clapped his hands joyfully, “Alrighty, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, I know I can count on the both of you to do a wonderful job!  Just call me if you two run into any problems, okay?”

Baekhyun mumbled a confirmation and Chanyeol nodded to the boss.

“Great!” JunMyeon beamed.  “Have fun, stay warm!”

With that, JunMyeon exited Baekhyun’s office, closing the door behind him and the room was utterly silent.

Even though Chanyeol was the hunter in the room, he felt like prey, especially with the glare that Baekhyun was staring him down with.

This was going to be the longest photoshoot ever


	4. Chapter 4

** Four **

Baekhyun pushed himself away from his desk, actively avoiding Chanyeol’s stare; he wandered to the closet where he stored his cameras, spare tablets, stylus pens, and chargers.  He grabbed his camera bag and his jacket that was on coat rack next to his closet before exhaling slowly, unclenching his fists; this was only Chanyeol.

Big pop star Chanyeol, Chanyeol who followed his dreams, Chanyeol whose face he saw every day as JunMyeon loved Baekhyun’s editing and work he did for Loey’s albums, and now Park Chanyeol was standing here in person, a walking reminder of what Baekhyun made himself throw away.

He turned around slowly, hands clutching at the strap of the camera bag he slung across his chest, Baekhyun still looked at the ground, “We can Uber to the park, my work will reimburse me for anything that I spent today.”

“Must be nice, free money,” Chanyeol attempted to joke.  He frowned when Baekhyun didn’t even react to it.  He stepped away from the door, seeing as he was acting as a barrier and watched Baekhyun dart by, he couldn’t help breathing in Baekhyun’s passing scent that wasn’t obstructed by coffee smells and other people, he could still detect the smells of the other two men who had been with Baekhyun that day.

It made his gut clench and he fought back a growl; Baekhyun wasn’t his anymore.

Baekhyun shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket once he ordered an Uber, despite layering a jean jacket on top, he was still feeling far too cold and pulled his hood up as they walked out of the building and leaned against the railing near the streets that cyclists used to chain their bikes to.  He glanced briefly over to Chanyeol, who was standing off to the side, still as a statue and he frowned for a second, as Chanyeol never stood that still before in his life; he let out a soft huff, he didn’t know this Chanyeol, even if there were some mannerisms that were still the same, like the way Chanyeol anxiously bit at his lip, eyes downcast, Baekhyun couldn’t see his hands, but Chanyeol was probably clenching them and unclenching them in his leather jacket pockets.

He forced himself not to look anymore, his phone pinged and he pushed himself to stand properly when a silver van rolled up to the curb, the driver rolled down the passenger window and called Baekhyun’s name.

Baekhyun nodded, showing his phone to the driver before climbing into the back seat, he saw Chanyeol crossing to the other side of the van to do the same; he mentally facepalmed, he should have taken the passenger seat, but he was trying to be nice and let the idol have it, but Chanyeol never took a hint.

Once they were buckled in, Baekhyun saw the driver do a doubletake in his rearview mirror when he noticed Chanyeol and Baekhyun was afraid he was going to have to use his stern business voice that he only used during bad phone calls and when people tried to walk over him.

But luckily, the driver just put the van into drive and said that he would take the quickest route to get to the park and then lightly turned the radio up to have poppy music fill in the silence.

Baekhyun relaxed after that, resting his chin in his palm as he blankly watched pedestrians and buildings pass by, they had just passed a dark building and he saw Chanyeol’s reflection staring at him intently, he gritted his teeth and he instantly saw Chanyeol react, turning away from him.

 _Weird._   Baekhyun thought as he side-eyed Chanyeol briefly before going back to gaze outside.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol freaked out because he got caught staring like some creep and he was so grateful that he didn’t blush anymore, or else he would have been caught.  He looked out his own window, a small frown on his face; he didn’t know what to do, it was clear that Baekhyun didn’t want to do this and Chanyeol didn’t blame him, as he was starting to feel more awkward.

Not to mention Chanyeol was completely surrounded by Baekhyun’s scent that even the driver’s was being overpowered; it was making Chanyeol’s gums hurt and he even if he stopped breathing, the smell of his former boyfriend was still lingering, the chemo signals lighting up Chanyeol’s senses.  He could detect the underlining anger, but what was more overpowering was the depression cloud that had been looming over Baekhyun that seemed to keep growing.

Finally, they arrived at the park and Chanyeol quickly exited the vehicle, gasping in cold air that stung and he felt himself relax.  He composed himself and made himself walk to where Baekhyun was standing, fiddling with his phone; he heard Baekhyun huff out a quiet laugh before pocketing his phone and Chanyeol desperately tried not to make an ass of himself.

“Where do you want to do this?” Chanyeol asked, catching Baekhyun’s attention.  He still hated the dull look in Baekhyun’s eyes, it didn’t match his youthful face that still had a glow to it when they had been dating, his hair wasn’t black anymore, it was dyed an auburn shade, a little more brown than red, but Chanyeol thought the color suited him.

Baekhyun glanced around himself, “The typical photoshoot on playground equipment is currently a trend.”

Chanyeol watched him push the hood down and felt a small grin stretching across his lips as he fretted with his hair, the sun brightening the auburn strands, he loved it, “Your hair looks good,” he commented and immediately shut his mouth.  He must have not fucked up like he thought he did, because he could see a faint pinkness coloring Baekhyun’s cheeks that wasn’t from the cold.

Baekhyun just gestured for Chanyeol to follow him, pretending that he didn’t hear the compliment, and especially ignoring the way his heart fluttered in his chest.  He sat on a plastic rock as he unzipped his camera bag and then turned it on and got it set up.

Chanyeol checked himself the camera of his phone, pushing a couple strands of his hair back and thought he looked good enough for it.  He figured he’d be doing a few more of them later in the week or next week, as he didn’t bring additional clothes to change into for other shoots.

He gazed over the park, leaning against a slide as he waited for Baekhyun to get ready, he saw couples jogging together, people playing fetch with their dogs, he was glad that kids were in school and that he didn’t have to dodge children playing on the equipment.

He startled at the sound of a camera clicking and he saw Baekhyun lower the camera slightly, “Are we doing this already?” Chanyeol asked him, standing to his full height.

Baekhyun was flipping through the three shots he took, seeing their quality, “These are just practice shots to make sure that I have the lens set up properly,” he replied.

Chanyeol fought the urge to coo that Baekhyun still got that furrowed look on his face when he was concentrating and would poke his tongue out slightly.  He forced the fond expression he could feel that was on his face to go away and mentally chided himself to keep it professional, Baekhyun was here for work and so was Chanyeol; he’d be the best damn model who ever modeled and hopefully it would sway Baekhyun’s cold demeanor.

He wasn’t for sure why _he_ was even the one trying to win over Baekhyun’s favor, because it was Baekhyun who broke up with him, Chanyeol felt like it should be the other way around, but he was still too softhearted and Baekhyun had too much pride; he’d rather eat a cucumber than actually seek forgiveness.

“Lean against the slide again,” Baekhyun said, cutting through Chanyeol’s internal dilemma.

Chanyeol hated that he obeyed so quickly, he could even sense Baekhyun’s amusement, he caught the soft words spoken about his eagerness to please and that sort of stung; he was about to just act out because of that, but he saw the trace of a fond smile on Baekhyun’s lips and he hastily pushed back that annoyance.

That’s how the next hour passed, Baekhyun telling Chanyeol how to pose, fixing his hair if the wind was strong suddenly, smoothing out his outfit if it sat wrong, even picking at woodchips that had lodged into the soles of Chanyeol’s boots.

They took pictures throughout the whole playground, Chanyeol liked the one where he got to jump out of the swing and he heard Baekhyun’s soft laughter; it was music to his ears.

Baekhyun was flicking through those photos, “You’re still a dork,” he murmured softly, gazing at the picture that was a goofy shot, Chanyeol sticking his tongue out.  He cleared his throat and clicked to the next photo, ears burning.

Chanyeol almost commented that he was Baekhyun’s dork, but one, he wasn’t anymore, and second of all, Baekhyun had whispered that comment and Chanyeol didn’t want to weird Baekhyun out.  He waltzed over, hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels and waited, he eyed Baekhyun’s delicate hands, they were still slender and pale, he noticed that the were sort of chapped from the chill and he finally noticed that Baekhyun was shivering.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said to get Baekhyun’s attention.

“Hm?” Baekhyun answered, still clicking through his work.

“I’ll grab us coffee, let’s just wrap up, it’s cold out here,” Chanyeol told him.

Baekhyun looked up and saw that Chanyeol didn’t even look remotely cold, his face wasn’t rosy from the cold, nor was he even shivering, but he wasn’t going to argue; he got cold easily and he was sort of antsy go to back inside and warm up, but he didn’t want to follow Chanyeol to a coffeeshop.  He nodded, “Okay, well, I’ll just take—”

“Your usual?  White Cappuccino with caramel?” Chanyeol cut him off, a small smirk on his face and he assumed he was right because Baekhyun’s cheeks turned pinker.

“Yea,” Baekhyun mumbled, looking away; his heart flipping in his chest.  “I’ll start to pack up,” he said and hastily turned away from Chanyeol to focus on putting his stuff up.

Chanyeol said he’d be back in a few and saw the coffeeshop he had been eyeballing across the street and jogged on over.  He stepped inside and sighed in relief when he saw that there wasn’t a line and even got to right at the front, he smiled kindly to the cashier and placed his order and then stood off to the side.

He answered a few emails from production and the texts he got from Kris and Tao, sending them pictures of the cute holiday cookies that were in shapes of leaves and cartoon turkeys.  Even if they didn’t eat, Tao still loved holiday things such as cutely decorated food and Chanyeol always sent him pictures of cool stuff like that when he went traveling.

His name was called and Chanyeol collected his and Baekhyun’s drinks before leaving the shop and made his way back across the street to the park, his nose wrinkled when he smelled tobacco and he saw Baekhyun sitting on a metal bench, loosely holding a cigarette between his slender fingers and looking at something on his phone.

Chanyeol was over in a flash, plucking the lit cigarette from Baekhyun’s hold and stomped it out into the sand, he saw Baekhyun’s angry eyes flash up to meet his and Chanyeol glared right back, “What was that?” he demanded.

“What?” Baekhyun growled.

“You know what!  When did you start smoking?  Baekhyun, you know that shit is dangerous!” Chanyeol growled.

“I’m not a regular, only when I’m feeling stressed,” Baekhyun snapped, he stood up, not that it made much of a difference as Chanyeol still loomed over him.  “You’re not my fucking keeper, Chanyeol!”

“No, but I can and still worry about you,” Chanyeol responded, his voice wasn’t as hostile and after he calmed, he saw that he had completely crushed their drinks; the coffee was steaming on his skin, but it didn’t hurt.

Baekhyun finally saw what had happened and he swore angrily, “Fuck, Chanyeol, what’s the matter with you?” he demanded.  He kept napkins in his bag for any type of spills and was carefully dabbing at Chanyeol’s hand and let go when Chanyeol shucked his jacket off, “You can’t just start yelling at me like you have a right to do so, it’s been six years,” Baekhyun mumbled, now wiping the liquid off Chanyeol’s jacket.

“You’re the one who changed your number and didn’t tell me and I even wrote letters, thanks for telling me that you moved too,” Chanyeol retorted, his tone had sharpened again somewhat, but he sighed when he saw Baekhyun shrink in himself a little.  “We’re not here to argue about our past, okay?  Let’s get you back to the office before you freeze to death,” he said, he was getting an Uber this time.

“Chanyeol, you don’t have to do that, I get paid back for it,” Baekhyun frowned, handing Chanyeol back his jacket.  He felt guilty from the earlier statement Chanyeol snapped at him with and he blinked back the tears he could start to feel burning at the back of his eyes.

Chanyeol just waved him off, not saying anything, he draped his jacket over his arms and started to head towards the entrance of the park, he could hear Baekhyun slowly following him.  He could taste the tang of salt and he glanced over to where Baekhyun had pulled his hood up again and keeping angled away from Chanyeol and he frowned, “Baekhyun,” he called softly.

The shorter didn’t look at him, just humming a soft _what_ at him.

Chanyeol moved until he was stood in front of Baekhyun and he frowned when he saw the red-rimmed eyes that Baekhyun was avoiding looking at him with, “Hey,” he murmured.  “I’m sorry for yelling at you,” he apologized softly, “I just don’t want you to get sick.”

“It’s not your concern _what_ I do with my life,” Baekhyun said hotly, glaring at Chanyeol now.

Chanyeol still saw his bottom lip wobble, “You’re right and I should have respected that, I’m sorry,” he apologized again.

“You shouldn’t care for me anymore,” Baekhyun whispered, eyes looking away from the taller again.  “I broke up with you.”

“Usually, the person being broken up with still has feelings and sometimes those feelings don’t go away for a while,” Chanyeol murmured.

“Six years though?” Baekhyun frowned at him.

“Yea, and probably will last for six years more and maybe longer than that,” Chanyeol shrugged; he had forever now, he just really hoped if things didn’t work out with Baekhyun that they wouldn’t last forever.  He sighed, “You’ve moved on, I’ll respect that and I won’t act out anymore as I did.  I’ll keep it professional between us for now on if we do any more future work together.”

Closing himself off was hard, Chanyeol might have been an immortal monster now, but he still had feelings, especially towards Baekhyun after being able to be around him again.

“I never said I moved on,” Baekhyun mumbled, looking at his shoes.  “I never did, I just…tried to forget.”

Chanyeol was startled to hear that and he looked at Baekhyun, “Why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Baekhyun childishly replied.  “Just know that I fucked up and I’m sorry, but I’m not as stable as I used to be.”

Chanyeol could sense that Baekhyun was starting to close himself up, given by the way the bitter taste of repression was starting to overtake the other emotions Baekhyun was letting loose.  He didn’t offer physical comfort, as he knew this was not the time to offer his hand or hug Baekhyun, he simply called Baekhyun’s name softly and soon, those sad puppy eyes were looking at him, “You don’t have to talk about it now, or not anytime soon, just know that I’m still here if you need me, or anything, okay?  I know that we haven’t spoken in a long time, but I still remember you well enough that we aren’t complete strangers to each other.”

Baekhyun slowly nodded, averting Chanyeol’s intense gaze, “But for how long?  I don’t think I can handle us getting close again, only for you to go back to the States again and then us drifting apart again.”

The vampire frowned at that soft statement; Baekhyun was right, it was difficult to even speak to his mother sometimes because of the time-zones and his erratic work schedule, but he thought himself to be more mature now, “I’ll make it work,” he promised, but he could tell that Baekhyun didn’t believe him, as he kept quiet.

There wasn’t much more to say after that, their Uber came and picked them up, this time, Baekhyun sat in the front, Chanyeol sat behind him and he refused to sigh, even if his current situation was emotionally taxing and the fact that Baekhyun wasn’t completely complying with him, still acting too closed off, but yet, still gave Chanyeol some interest.

It wasn’t hard to tell that Baekhyun was destressed and was trying frantically to keep himself calm, it made Chanyeol upset with himself to see that he was the cause of it and maybe, he thought it would be best for him to try to only be in Baekhyun’s life when his career requested it, other than that, he’d just remain dormant.

They made it back to Baekhyun’s work and the shorter quickly slipped out the car and made a brisk walk towards the building, he saw in the reflection of the doors that Chanyeol was just a couple steps behind him and he internally swore at Chanyeol’s tallness.

The ride up the elevator was even more awkward, Baekhyun thought Chanyeol was even holding his breath, which made him feel worse because now he was making the least awkward person he knew feel uncomfortable.  He ignored that new stingy feeling of tears, weakly greeted the receptionist, swiped his keycard and walked down the hall, he wouldn’t report in to JunMyeon yet until he had collected himself, he could still feel Chanyeol lurking behind him.

 _Right, the other part of the project._   Baekhyun thought glumly; he and Chanyeol had to go through the pictures they took today.  He made it to his office and he pushed the door open, he was surprised by the smell of takeout and Jongdae’s laughter was heard; he saw Minseok and Jongdae sitting on the couch that he sometimes crashed on when he stayed late.

“Hey, there you are!” Jongdae smiled when he saw Baekhyun standing in the doorway.  His smile didn’t dim when he saw another man, who he knew as the solo artist, was lurking behind Baekhyun, “Hi!” he greeted.

Minseok was dividing the food and smiled briefly to Baekhyun before going back to separating the food containers, “C’mon, you didn’t eat breakfast today, and it’s well past lunch, but you still need to eat.”

Baekhyun just sighed in defeat, he sat his camera bag on his desk and then removed his jean jacket and hung it on the coat rack, “You guys don’t have to baby me,” he grumbled.  He felt Jongdae snatch him and pull him basically into his lap, the younger wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s middle and hugged him tight, swaying him slightly.

“But you are our baby,” Jongdae cooed and heard Minseok scoff at him.

Baekhyun just let it happen with gritted teeth.  He saw Chanyeol standing outside still, looking uncertain on what to do, “Dae, I have work to do still,” he said, wriggling to get out Jongdae’s hold.

“He can join us to eat, there’s enough,” Minseok said, gesturing for Chanyeol to come inside.  He watched the idol walk in slowly and he greeted the much taller man with a fond smile, “I never thought we’d ever meet an idol,” Minseok mused.

Chanyeol nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “Hello, I’m Park Chanyeol.”

“We’re aware,” Minseok teased, eyes twinkling playfully.

Baekhyun elbowed the elder lightly, “Stop it, you’re being rude,” he frowned.    

“Your line of work seems like a lot of fun,” Jongdae pouted at Baekhyun.  “You get to meet idols all day and I only get to meet sick puppies and kittens.”

Chanyeol had wondered why the man faintly smelled of animal, he was worried that werewolves were real and that he had just encountered one and that he was going to get turned into a chew toy.

Baekhyun nudged Jongdae until the younger finally let go and Baekhyun could finally stand back up, he gave Chanyeol an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, they usually don’t bother me at work.”

“But you skipped breakfast, so we had to feed you lunch or you’d forget,” Minseok reminded him, waving a pair of chopsticks at the younger.

Chanyeol frowned at why they were fretting over him so much and he looked among them, how affectionate the veterinarian was with Baekhyun and how protective the cherub faced man was towards Baekhyun.  He blurted without thinking, “Are you his boyfriends?”

Baekhyun looked horrified and stared at Chanyeol like he was crazy.

Jongdae howled with laughter, doubling over on the couch, while Minseok just gave Jongdae an exasperated look.

“Hell, no,” Baekhyun snapped once he recovered from shock.  “They’re my roommates, Minseok and Jongdae.”

“Roommates,” Chanyeol repeated slowly in disbelief and he saw Baekhyun step towards him in a threatening manner that he remembered him doing when the shorter was trying to intimate Chanyeol.

“Yah, Park Chanyeol!  Don’t make assumptions like that!” Baekhyun growled, cheeks flushing bright red.

Minseok’s eyes widened at the harsh tone Baekhyun was using, especially towards one of his clients, “Baekhyun,” he called gently.

Even Jongdae had stopped laughing when he saw how serious Baekhyun looked and he looked between Chanyeol and Baekhyun.  While his roommate could be a little snappish somedays, Baekhyun was usually in a good mood, as least, in a mood that wasn’t upset or sad, and he _never_ acted out like this in front of new people, and he especially bet Baekhyun didn’t snap like that with clients.

Chanyeol didn’t take offence to it, just smiled endearingly before facing Baekhyun’s friends, “I’m not upset or afraid, I know him quite well.”

“I’m not the same kid you dated in high school, Chanyeol, let that image go,” Baekhyun sighed.

That was news to Jongdae and Minseok and they both shot up out of their seats, “ _What?!”_

“You dated an idol, what the hell, Baekhyun?!  I thought we were friends who told each other everything!” Jongdae whined at him, pinching Baekhyun’s sides, who was fighting him off.

Minseok was still processing what Baekhyun had said before looking at Chanyeol with a skeptical gaze, “So, you know why he’s the way he is now?”

Chanyeol tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“Minseok-Hyung, no,” Baekhyun said quickly before Minseok could say anything.  He looked at Chanyeol now, “Can we just finish our project tomorrow or later this week?” Baekhyun said, a little pleadingly.

Chanyeol was giving Baekhyun a inquisitive stare, but he wasn’t going to push it; Baekhyun would tell him if he wanted to, “Yea, we can.”

“Give me your phone,” Baekhyun said, outstretching his hand and typed in his number before giving it back to the solo artist.  He glared when Jongdae was wiggling his eyebrows at him and mouthed at him to stop when Chanyeol was looking down to put his phone back in his pocket.  He relaxed his annoyance when Chanyeol looked back at him, “I’ll text you some time this week, when I have a cleared schedule again, okay?”

“Yea, sure,” Chanyeol nodded.  He glanced at his watch, it was getting close to three, his mother was off in an hour; he’d pick dinner up for her, as he’d feel bad for her working hard over dinner for him to only eat a couple mouthfuls.  He said farewell to Baekhyun’s roommates and apologized for the misunderstanding that they both waved off.

“From how affectionate we are—”

“ _You_ are,” Minseok corrected, cutting Jongdae off.

“Whatever you say, we can see the misunderstanding,” Jongdae chuckled.

“I’ll learn to not jump the gun so quickly,” Chanyeol shrugged at him.  He gave Baekhyun a small grin, “It was nice seeing you again, please take care of yourself,” he said gently.

Baekhyun merely nodded at him and watched Chanyeol leave, only then did he exhale and he leaned against his desk, drained from the emotional conflictions he had throughout the whole three hours he spent with Chanyeol.

“So,” Jongdae drawled and he sniggered when Baekhyun turned to glare at him and he felt Minseok lightly slap his shoulder, “Okay, fine, I won’t ask for the juicy details of your dating life with a now famous idol.”

“He’s still a dork,” Baekhyun muttered.  “A dork with a bigger ego, and still so stupidly hot,” he groaned, hiding his face in his hands.  He had definitely noticed that while Chanyeol still looked young as he did, his face certainly had lost most of the baby fat in his cheeks, his body was far more toned and no longer noodle-like, and his voice had gotten deeper; it had _done_ things to Baekhyun.

“You would know that, since you edit all his albums and those booklet things,” Minseok reminded him and heard Baekhyun’s muffled groan again.  “Did JunMyeon _really_ put you on that assignment, or is this a way that your torture yourself?”

“A little bit of both,” Baekhyun murmured, dropping his hands from his face.  “When JunMyeon heard that Kris Wu had contacted him for publishing Chanyeol’s albums, he asked me to do because he saw my work before…and I agreed to it because I wanted to remind myself that I made the right choice.”

Jongdae heard the sadness leaking into Baekhyun’s voice and he quickly pulled Baekhyun into a hug, resting his head on top of his once Baekhyun hid his face into Jongdae’s shoulder, “Why would you do this to yourself, Baek?  You’re already going through a lot of mental anguish to begin with…”

Baekhyun let out a shuddery breath, fingers curling into Jongdae’s shirt, “I don’t want to talk about it,” he whispered; his go to phrase when he was fighting back an onslaught of tears.

Minseok had wandered over and put a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, squeezing briefly, “C’mon, you can talk to us later, but right now, you need to eat some lunch.”

Jongdae agreed with that and started to shepherd Baekhyun back towards the couch and sat him down, “Chow time, and then we’ll leave you alone,” he promised.  “Just text us if you start to feel bad.”

Baekhyun softly thanked him and made himself a plate, ignoring when Jongdae kept stacking more fried rice into his bowl; he didn’t mind the sheltering, especially when he felt exhausted to his very core, it made his recovery a little easier when he knew that he had two very caring people right next to him, even if some days he wanted to be left alone.

He just wished that he could handle situations again without freaking out, without panicking over every little thing when he tried to solve it himself, he wished he still had the bounce-back mindset when he had been a teenager, in a happy relationship with Chanyeol, stood on good grounds with his father, when he could still rely on his brother, but he wished more than anything that his mother was still alive, she had been his rock when he was in a rough spot, she always gave him advice that pulled him out that dark hole, always hugged him and gave him affection when he was really down in the dumps.

Baekhyun never got that same comfort again and standing at her grave stone where she had been buried or kneeling at her memorial shrine back in his apartment didn’t make him feel any better, it was just a constant reminder than she was gone and Baekhyun was still alive with problems.

He shoved a spoon of rice into his mouth and pushed those thoughts away, they didn’t help him, nor anyone else around him; Baekhyun could ignore those feelings and thoughts if he tried hard enough, it would bit a little difficult to do when he had Chanyeol around him, but the idol would only be in his life for maybe a few more days before disappearing back to the States and Baekhyun could go back to mindlessly editing the idol’s new albums and photo booklets that the fans of his country was obsessed with.

Baekhyun softly exhaled as he came back to his senses, hearing Jongdae talking animatedly about a new TV show he was watching and wanted them to watch it with him, as long as he had them, he would be fine, as long as Chanyeol kept to himself, he would be fine, as long as Baekhyun emotionally blocked himself, he would be fine.

He would be just fine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wednesday everyone!~
> 
> Comments/kudos are always welcome c:

** Five  **

Somehow, Chanyeol had become the champion at the petty games, which was waiting for the other person to crack first, leaving them on read for a day before actually replying and mostly because he didn’t know how to deal with Baekhyun, this Baekhyun was much different from the one he knew six years ago, but he had to also configure the fact that they were adults now, both 24 with adult jobs that required the majority of their time and that their opinions on everything has changed.

Chanyeol learned a couple things in his life; alcohol couldn’t fill the deep cavern of sadness, but it could temporarily make him forget his life choices, which now, being an undead creature of the night, alcohol had no effect on him, so he learned to cope with binging things on Netflix and Hulu, the other thing he learned was that he was not emotionally broken, he was still sappily in love and devoted to Baekhyun.

Funny how it only took seeing his face for a total of three seconds for Chanyeol to fall head over heels for Baekhyun again and not be peeved that Baekhyun treated him like a stranger.

He exhaled and threw his arm over his eyes as he lied in bed, it was the next evening and he hadn’t even budged, not to see his mother, not to fake eat dinner with her, nor watch her evening shows with her; he did feel guilty because his mother had let him stay in bed for the whole day.

He let three days pass since seeing Baekhyun before letting the emotional tidepool assault him and just coped how he did when he had been alive; staying in bed and staring at the ceiling in dismay.

Baekhyun had text him a day after their meeting, asking when they could finish up their project because he needed to get started on something new and it sort of scared Chanyeol that he was only a project in Baekhyun’s eyes now and that when it was done, Baekhyun would move on.

Chanyeol certainly felt like writing early Taylor Swift songs of heartbreak, but then, he’d have to sing those songs to his fans live and relive those emotions every time, when he’d only want to forget Baekhyun again and move on, like Baekhyun was doing.

He felt a little gross, not showering in a couple days, not that it mattered, his hair didn’t get greasy anymore, his skin didn’t breakout anymore, the only thing he had to watch out for was to not let stylists try to cut his hair because it wouldn’t grow back.  He rolled out of bed and made himself shower anyway, the water felt nice and it made him feel less guilty about not being productive, he had just finished brushing his teeth and checking his fangs when he heard knocking on the front door, his mother walking to the door, the door opening, and he heard her soft gasp.

Chanyeol was halfway down the stairs when the scent wafted over him and his fangs nearly slipped out from how _bad_ he wanted to feed from the source.  He reached the bottom of the stairs and saw that it was Baekhyun, bundled up in a thick, light gray colored sweater, light blue skinny jeans, mid-calf boots, and a mid-thigh, deep maroon jacket layering over the outfit. 

His mother quickly swept Baekhyun inside, smiling at him endearingly, “Baekhyunnie, look how much you have grown!”

Baekhyun flushed under the attention, “Hello, Ms. Lee,” he greeted her.  “I’m sorry for suddenly dropping by.”

“Nonsense, it’s so good to see you again!” Chanyeol’s mother said happily.  “I just made tea, would you like some?  You look chilled, sweetie,” his mother fretted, already taking the white plastic bag from Baekhyun that he had been holding in his hand.

Baekhyun thanked her and unzipped his boots, putting them next to Chanyeol’s and Ms. Lee’s shoes on the mat by the door and hung up his satchel and coat on the rack that was by the shoe mat.  He turned and saw Chanyeol still standing at the foot of the stairs and his heart stuttered in his chest when he saw the dark look in Chanyeol’s eyes, but oddly, it wasn’t a stare that was telling him to fuck off, Chanyeol looked…hungry.

Ms. Lee wondered what Baekhyun was staring at and she turned around and jumped a little, holding a hand to her chest, “Chanyeol!  Why are you standing so still right there!” his mother gasped.

“I have to step out for a moment,” Chanyeol said hurriedly, stepping around them, barely able to pull on his shoes quick enough before he was out the door, his mother worriedly calling his name.  As he left, Baekhyun had tried to stop him, he felt the heat of his touch through the sweater he was wearing and he twisted away from the contact and was out the door.

Ms. Lee watched her son hurrying towards the woods and she looked to Baekhyun, who was pulling his boots back on, “Baekhyun, don’t get yourself sick chasing after him, I’ve learned that it’s best to leave him be,” she murmured.

“I know, I’ve been with him,” Baekhyun didn’t blush when he said that, “but his hair looked wet and he shouldn’t be out there in the first place.”

Ms. Lee grabbed the couch blanket from the living room and saw that Baekhyun had already pulled on his jacket, she heard him thank her before rushing out the door, calling Chanyeol’s name; she worriedly watch Baekhyun disappear through the threshold of the woods.  Ms. Lee decided to make soup for when they returned with tea, she just hoped that they wouldn’t be out too late, it was already evening, the sun was starting to set and it would get colder.

Baekhyun still shouted for Chanyeol, getting snagged on branches, stumbling over roots; he couldn’t even see Chanyeol anymore and he was wearing a bright orange sweater for fuck’s sake.  He leaned against a nearby tree, panting softly, the blanket folded over his arms, he looked around and listened, but all he heard was the wind and the creaking of tree branches.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

Baekhyun yelped and stumbled away from the voice from behind him, he whipped around and saw Chanyeol standing there, “ _Fuck_ , you scared the shit out me!” he shouted.  He steadied himself and stepped closer to Chanyeol, who stepped back, Baekhyun stared at him, confused, before looking at him in disbelief, “What is your fucking problem, Chanyeol?” he demanded.  “You need to go home before you freeze to death!”

He was looking over Chanyeol, he hated the dark look in his eyes, like he wasn’t seeing Baekhyun, he saw that the whole collar of his sweater was wet from his hair that hung in his face; Chanyeol looked crazed and it scared Baekhyun.  Baekhyun couldn’t even see him breathing, Chanyeol stood still as a statue, hands clenched into fists, “Chanyeol, _please_ ,” Baekhyun pleaded softly; he saw Chanyeol shiver for once. 

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol croaked.  He still locked up, but didn’t step back when Baekhyun came close to him again, he held his breath when Baekhyun stood in his bubble to wrap the blanket around his shoulders, he saw Baekhyun reach into his jacket pocket and pull out a beanie and felt Baekhyun pull in on him, he had to bend a little, because Baekhyun was already standing on his tiptoes and straining to reach him.

“You shouldn’t be out here, you’re soaked,” Baekhyun frowned, tugging the blanket more firmly around Chanyeol’s shoulders.  “Why did you run from the house?”

“I needed to go,” Chanyeol mumbled.  He wanted to pull Baekhyun closer to him, but he was afraid of hurting him, he wanted so many things, all of them leading to the said human, but he couldn’t, he was allowed to look, not touch.

“Why?” Baekhyun was exasperated.  He was pulling on Chanyeol’s hands, he felt how cold his touch was and Baekhyun wanted to get him home at this very moment; he tugged at Chanyeol, “C’mon, let’s go back, your mom is super worried.”

“I just need to stay out here a while longer,” Chanyeol said, tugging his hands back; he saw the hurt on Baekhyun’s face and he folded immediately.  “Okay, fine, _fine_ ,” he whispered.

“Do you really not want me here?” Baekhyun asked him softly.  “I know I dropped by unexpectedly and I’m sorry...”

“No, you know I want you here, I’m just giving you the space you clearly wanted,” Chanyeol replied.  He exhaled shakily, “Why are you here anyway, Baekhyun?” he asked, looking at him, he saw the blood rush up Baekhyun’s cheeks.

“I stopped by because you had burned your hands with coffee, remember?” Baekhyun asked him.  “I went to the convenience store and picked up some burn ointment and bandages for you and you weren’t answering your phone…so I just decided to come over.”

Chanyeol showed Baekhyun his hands, “I don’t need it, I wasn’t burned,” he said; his skin was unmarred and he saw Baekhyun’s shock.

“You had scalding coffee all over you, _how_?” Baekhyun blinked in astonishment, taking Chanyeol’s hands into his own, looking at his hands, turning them carefully to see that there weren’t any blisters, no pinkness, nothing.  He looked up at Chanyeol, “What the fuck?”

“I told you I was fine,” Chanyeol shrugged, taking his hands back, as Baekhyun’s touch was far too soft, he could feel the blood pumping through his veins; it made Chanyeol’s control feel weak.  “You should go back, I’ll be there in a second.”

“I’m not leaving you out here,” Baekhyun scowled.  “Your mom is worried, you shouldn’t be out here in the first place.”

“Just trust me, okay?” Chanyeol said, slightly exasperated.  He saw the defiance in Baekhyun’s eyes and Chanyeol gritted his teeth; he swore he’d never use his vampiric gifts on humans, but Baekhyun was in danger and Chanyeol needed him to leave _now._   He leered at Baekhyun, he felt his eyes tingle from the change, “Baekhyun,” he commanded, he watched the clarity leave Baekhyun’s eyes, replacing it with an unfocused glaze, “go back to the house, stay with my mother, tell her that you couldn’t find me,” he stated as he gave back the blanket and the beanie Baekhyun had given him.  “Go,” he ordered and watched Baekhyun slowly turn away, walking sluggishly back towards the house.

The lingering smell of Baekhyun hung in the crisp air and Chanyeol quickly backed away from the area, heading deeper into the woods to breathe the damper air as the creek came closer, he focused on the trickling of the water and took deep breaths of fresh air.

He collected himself, he touched his hair when it felt stiff and shook off the ice that clung to the ends of his hair; he stuck around long enough to clear his head and he would have to remember to text or call Kris later to see if there were any donor dens nearby that he could go to and feed, because Baekhyun was making his control slip far faster than anyone Chanyeol has encountered before, he had even been exposed to fresh blood and hadn’t freaked out as he did when Baekhyun had entered his childhood home.

After calming and down and making a mental note to contact Kris later, Chanyeol made his way back to his house; he saw the smoke rising from the chimney in the living room and he hoped that Baekhyun was bundled near it, but knowing his mother, he most likely was.  He stepped inside and quietly shut the front door, sliding his shoes off and he walked up the two steps to head into foyer and rounded the corner to the living room where he found Baekhyun sitting on a plush pillow on the floor next to the fireplace, the blanket he had given Chanyeol earlier was now wrapped around him completely, he looked like a mummy wrapped in a soft blue blanket.

“Park, Chanyeol!” his mother scolded, whapping him on the head with a magazine.  She waved the rolled-up magazine at him threateningly before sliding it into her apron pocket, “What were you thinking running outside this late and with wet hair!”

Chanyeol ducked his head, his mother never snapped often, only when she was truly worried, and he apologized meekly, “I’m sorry, Umma, I don’t know what overcame me,” he said in his softest voice.

“Well, whatever it was, it’s taken over Baekhyun,” his mother frowned worriedly.  “He came back here, pale as a ghost, and his eyes were vacant,” she whispered.  “I sat him down in front of the fire to warm him up, maybe he’s just frozen up?”

“I’ll go check on him, Umma,” Chanyeol promised.  “You know he doesn’t like the cold, maybe he’s just in shock.”

His mother still looked upset and she touched his cold hair, “You wait here, I’m going to get some warm towels for you and tea for the both of you, go sit in the kitchen, I have the oven going, I’m making bread for the soup.”

Chanyeol complied easily and he didn’t want to wait long, he let his mother fuss over him, toweling his hair dry and let her wrap another warm towel around his shoulders and watched her prepare the tea.

“The soup will be done soon,” his mother said as she passed him two mugs.  “If he’s too unwell to drive home tonight, I can make up the guest bedroom for him.”

“Okay, thank you,” Chanyeol smiled, kissing her forehead in thanks; he ignored her soft gasp from how cold he felt.  He made his way to where Baekhyun was sitting, honestly, it felt like a horror game, because it was getting dark, the only source of lighting was the dim lamp on the couch side-table and the fireplace, and Baekhyun was an unmoving lump in front of the fireplace, sitting stock-still.  He could tell that even Toben thought he was acting funny, because the dog usually loved being around Baekhyun, but stayed curled up on the recliner, head resting on his paws, staring unblinkingly at the human.

Chanyeol carefully sat down next to him, he saw that Baekhyun was blankly staring at the fire, the flames dancing in the dark color of his eyes, the slight glazed look was still there and Chanyeol panicked; what if he had broken Baekhyun?  He looked to the kitchen, his mother was still hovering over the stove and looked back at his human, Chanyeol waved a hand in front of Baekhyun’s face, but didn’t get a reaction.  He furrowed his brow in confusion, he tried to remember if Kris had even done this before, but he couldn’t recall the elder vampire doing something like this and he was afraid that he had broken some type of rule.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called softly, shaking Baekhyun’s shoulder, he saw Baekhyun’s head slowly turn towards him, eyes still unseeing, and Chanyeol shivered; this mind control stuff was creepy.  He thought of magicians who put people under spells, they usually clicked their fingers and the spell would be broken; he decided to give it a shot, the worst thing is that he’d just have to call Kris, Chanyeol clicked his fingers and softly ordered for Baekhyun to wake up.

It was a spontaneous reaction, Baekhyun slumped forward and Chanyeol had to stop him from falling face first into the fire grate and held him until he heard Baekhyun grumble something into Chanyeol’s shoulder.  Chanyeol slowly eased him back up and he saw Baekhyun blinking sleepily, “Are you okay?”

“What happened?” Baekhyun mumbled, eyes still half-closed.  He rubbed sleepily at his eyes and looked around himself, finding that he was in Chanyeol’s living room in front of a warm fire, swaddled up like he was baby, he could smell Ms. Lee’s potato soup, and that he was _super_ hungry.

“Here, drink some tea, you must have gone into shock from being so cold,” Chanyeol said, putting a little more persuasion into those words so Baekhyun would believe him.

“Because I was chasing after your stupid ass in the woods,” Baekhyun grumbled, taking the mug from Chanyeol a little too quickly.  He felt groggy, like he took a nap and then felt ten-times worse from waking up from it.  He blew on the tea a couple times before carefully sipping at it, it was warming him to his very core; he had never felt so cold.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have run off like that,” Chanyeol apologized to him.  He watched Baekhyun take a couple more sips, seeing the way the warmth went to his cheeks and Chanyeol swallowed uneasily, averting his gaze from where he watched Baekhyun swallow.

Baekhyun looked back at him, “When did we even get back?  I don’t remember getting here…let alone sitting down in front of the fire,” he whispered.  He saw the brief flicker of guilt in Chanyeol’s eyes and tried to get the taller to look at him again, but Chanyeol just kept his head down. 

“I don’t know, you showed up here before I did,” Chanyeol shrugged at him.  He lightly squeezed Baekhyun’s arm, “You were cold, you hate the cold, maybe you just faded out on your way back,” he didn’t make it a suggestion.  The persuasion seemed to work this time, as Baekhyun nodded and sipped his tea.

Baekhyun sighed, letting his shoulders relax, and drank his tea in silence, Chanyeol a quiet presence next to him; he thought he was going to nod off from how comfortable he was and almost fell asleep until he heard Ms. Lee calling their names, telling them that dinner was ready.

Chanyeol collected the mugs into one hand, he had finished his too, he offered a hand to Baekhyun and was actually surprised when the shorter took his hand; he felt Baekhyun shiver from his touch, but he somehow doubted it a pleasurable one, as he probably felt like an icepack.

They went to the kitchen together, Chanyeol refilled Baekhyun’s mug and added three teaspoons of sugar and a dollop of honey and stirred it before placing it on the table next to Baekhyun, he heard his soft words of gratitude.

Chanyeol went back to the living room, saw that Toben had relocated himself to rest in front of the fireplace, he patted his dog gently, and brought the blanket back to Baekhyun, it was still warm and he tucked it around the human, he didn’t miss how Baekhyun was tense, actively keeping his body away from Chanyeol’s hands.  He sat across from him after helping his mother get the bowls of soup ready and the toasty bread, he really wished he could taste the warm, buttery taste, the actually enjoy the soft crunch of the toasted outer layer, but he couldn’t savor those things anymore.

Baekhyun thanked Ms. Lee for the food and ripped his roll in half, preferring to dunk it into the creamy broth, his mouth was watering and he didn’t care if he was going to scald his tongue; he forgot how good her cooking was…it reminded him of his mother’s.

Chanyeol heard Baekhyun’s heart stutter and he looked up, seeing that Baekhyun had frozen, the spoon barely out the bowl, his bangs fell into his eyes, and heard Baekhyun’s breath hitch softly.  He glanced at his mother, who just noticed, and they shared a look, he put his spoon down, and his mother did the same, he watched her reach over to Baekhyun.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” Ms. Lee asked him softly, her hand rested on his hand that was in a fist on the table.

Baekhyun dropped the spoon back into his bowl with a sharp clatter, he pulled away from her touch, “I’m sorry, I forgot that I have something urgent to take care of,” he said shakily.  He stood up, the blanket falling from his shoulders and pooled over the back of the chair, “Thank you for the food, but I’m sorry, I have to go,” Baekhyun quickly said, moving away from the table, the whole time, he kept his eyes down.

Ms. Lee quickly looked to her son and she didn’t have to tell him to do anything, as Chanyeol was already getting up to follow Baekhyun to the door.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called, he saw Baekhyun sitting on the bottom step, putting his boots on.  He walked until his toes were at the edge of the first step, “Where are you going?”

“Back to my apartment, I have t-to go,” Baekhyun’s voice shook and he quickly pulled on his other boot before standing up.

“Hey,” Chanyeol called softly, going down to the bottom stair and grabbing Baekhyun’s hand, he felt the shorter flinch at the touch and he finally saw how bloodshot Baekhyun’s eyes were.  Chanyeol sucked in a breath, he tasted the bitterness of the salt of his tears in the air, the sadness, the _hurt_ that clouded Baekhyun’s warm, soft scent, until he didn’t smell like him anymore.

“Let go,” Baekhyun whispered, trying to tug his wrist free from Chanyeol’s iron strong grip.  “Chanyeol, I said let _go!_ ” he growled, eyes narrowing and stumbled back when Chanyeol did let go.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here, I shouldn’t have even showed up here, it was a mistake,” Baekhyun said quietly, eyes still watering.

“No,” Chanyeol shook his head, “I liked seeing you, so did my mom, she’s super pleased to see you.”

Baekhyun’s bottom lip wobbled and quickly turned away and grabbed his coat, “I need to go,” he whispered.  “Jongdae and Minseok don’t know where I am…I just took a bus to get here after work, I didn’t even tell them, _fuck_ , they probably think—” Baekhyun cut himself off and grabbed his satchel, digging through it get his phone, he saw the various texts and missed calls from his roommates and he swore lowly.

“What is going on, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked him softly, he saw that Baekhyun was frantically typing on his phone.

“I’m not supposed to be out after seven by myself,” Baekhyun told him drearily.  He pulled on his jacket and put his satchel over his shoulder and shoved his phone in his pocket, getting ready to exit the house without another notice when he felt Chanyeol grab him again and Baekhyun whipped around to glare at him and he saw the concern on the idol’s face, “What?” he snapped.

“Why are you on a schedule like that?” Chanyeol hesitantly asked him.

“It’s none of your damn business,” Baekhyun growled, he felt like a dog being backed into a corner.

Chanyeol sighed, shoulders slumping, but he still held onto Baekhyun, “Fine, don’t tell me, but I’m not letting you take the late bus home, since you said that you’re not even supposed to be out by yourself after seven…and it’s almost nine.”

“I’m not a child, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun growled, trying to pull away, but Chanyeol’s hold didn’t lessen, nor did he even look like he was straining to keep Baekhyun in place; he thought about using one of his self-defense moves, but he didn’t want to upset Ms. Lee.

“Umma!” Chanyeol called and heard his mother approaching.  “I’m taking Baekhyun home.”

Ms. Lee nodded, looking between them worriedly, “Let me pack you some leftovers, Baekhyun, you barely touched anything,” she said and hurried away to pack away some soup and bread into Tupperware containers.

Baekhyun couldn’t tell her no because she was already in the kitchen and he could hear her bustling around to pack him up some food.  He felt Chanyeol let go of him and Baekhyun angrily stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, “You don’t have to baby me,” he said lowly.

Chanyeol chose not to say anything, he heard his mother coming back, she had put everything in one of her many lunch bags, the food all safely packed away and he took it from her, “Thank you, Umma,” he smiled.

Baekhyun bowed his head, “Thank you, Ms. Lee,” he said quietly.

Ms. Lee just gave him a soft smile, “You boys be safe,” she murmured.  “Chanyeol, be safe driving to and from his home, okay?”

“I will, Umma, I’ll call you when I’m leaving,” Chanyeol promised her.  He pulled on his shoes and then made sure to remember to pull on a coat to not worry her and then he was locking the door up behind him and Baekhyun and heading towards his jeep.

Baekhyun got into the passenger seat, Chanyeol passed him the bag that he sat between his feet, he grumpily put on his seat belt and folded his arms and sulkily stared out the passenger window, but all he could see was his annoyed expression as it was completely dark out.

“You would have frozen to death waiting for the bus,” Chanyeol said, cranking up the heat.  He backed out of his mom’s driveway, flicking the headlights on, “Tell me the address to where I’m going.”

“You can just drop me off at work, I can get an Uber there,” Baekhyun replied.

Chanyeol gripped the steering wheel, “Baekhyun, stop being so fucking difficult for once and just tell me the address of your apartment,” he ordered.  He heard Baekhyun grit his teeth and he thought that the shorter was about to actually physically fight him as the air grew tense, heated, and saturated with aggression; he was about to pull over and let Baekhyun duke it out with him, he of course, wouldn’t lay a finger on Baekhyun, he’d let Baekhyun tucker himself out.

“Fine,” Baekhyun spat.  He told Chanyeol the location and watched him input the address in his GPS on his phone and then he glared angrily out the passenger window, his whole body was locked up, and he was grateful for the anger to be the distraction that he needed.

As it turns out, Baekhyun lived 30 minutes from Chanyeol’s house, Chanyeol configured that Baekhyun only lived ten-minutes from work as they passed the building where his office was.  He pulled up the fairly nice apartment complex, it had a gated-in community, streetlights equally placed out, it looked safe, and Chanyeol was happy that Baekhyun lived somewhere nice.

He had barely put his jeep in park before two figures darted out from a stairwell to one of the gate doors and pushed it open before rushing towards Chanyeol’s jeep; he could tell it was Baekhyun’s roommates and he heard Baekhyun sigh.  Chanyeol slid out of the driver’s side to walk around and watched Baekhyun get out slowly of the passenger’s side.

Minseok was there first, pulling Baekhyun into a tight hug, Jongdae was there next, pulling Baekhyun into an almost bone-bending hug, fingers running through Baekhyun’s hair in the back.  The oldest of the group looked to Chanyeol, giving him a weak, but very grateful smile, “Thank you for bringing him home, we were so worried,” Minseok said, bowing towards Chanyeol.

Chanyeol felt awkward and hastily told Minseok that it wasn’t a problem, he busied himself with grabbed the lunch bag his mother had packed Baekhyun, “Here, there’s most likely enough for all of you, my mom is worrier and tries to fatten all my friends up because everyone is too skinny in her eyes,” he said fondly and passed the bag to Minseok.

Minseok thanked him again and looked where Jongdae was clinging to Baekhyun’s hand like a lost child, “Jongdae, take him inside, it’s really cold, and please take this,” he gave the bag to Jongdae, who took it from Minseok, and thanked Chanyeol for bringing Baekhyun safely home and for the food.

Baekhyun didn’t look at Chanyeol when he was basically dragged by Jongdae like a toy wagon, he just accepted his fate that his friends would probably be breathing down his neck for a week or so, until they felt reassured that Baekhyun wouldn’t vanish again.

Chanyeol leaned against the side of his rental, “Can I ask why you two act more like parents for him than friends?”

“We are his friends, we worry about him…probably more than we should because it irritates him, but for a good cause,” Minseok said carefully.  “I can’t give the specifics, as I don’t want to betray Baekhyun, if he wants you to know, he will tell you.”

“Can you at least tell me why he has to be home before seven like some kid under curfew?” Chanyeol asked him.  He saw how Minseok shifted from foot to foot and it made him anxious that Baekhyun was in some shady business, “Is…is Baekhyun all right?”

“He…” Minseok trailed off, looking guiltily at the ground, “he’s gone through some things…and Jongdae and I are his safety nets for when he’s about to collapse.  If he does start seeing you regularly, then just text me or Jongdae when he’s over with you so he and I don’t worry, like tonight.”

Chanyeol passed over his phone when Minseok asked him for it and was given it back with two new numbers.  He looked at Minseok a grim look on his face, “Is the reason he’s like this is because of his mother?”

“Among other things,” Minseok vaguely replied.  “Have a good night, Chanyeol and thank you again for bringing him home.”

Chanyeol nodded, keeping his mouth shut, as Minseok was not going to answer anymore questions and Chanyeol wasn’t about to force him to either, “Have a good night, tell Baekhyun to keep warm, he hates the cold.”

Minseok had a soft look on his face, “I will,” he responded and turned to go jog inside.

Chanyeol waited until he heard Minseok’s heartbeat vanish from within the apartment was staying in, before Chanyeol got back inside his jeep and called his mother as promised and drove back home.

When he got home, his mother was watching TV, he kissed her cheek, said that Baekhyun and his roommates were grateful for the food, and then he said that he was going to lie down.  He sent Kris a text asking about any donor dens that Kris knew of and thought were safe for him to go to, after that, he put his phone on the charger, Toben curled up at the foot of his bed, and Chanyeol went into a meditative trance.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings! Blood drinking (Not from Baek, sorry!) and talk of depression

** Six **

Chanyeol checked the address again on the building and his phone, he wondered if Kris had made a typo, because what Chanyeol was standing outside of was a flower shop and he saw an elderly lady handing over a bouquet of flowers to a young man and some change before waving him off.

He heard the door jingle and slid inside the door as soon as the young man passed him, Chanyeol’s senses were overwhelmed with floral and his nose itched; he never had a pollen allergy before.

“Hello,” the shop owner greeted Chanyeol.

“Hello, Ajumma,” Chanyeol smiled and bowed politely to her.

She came around the counter, “Anything specific you’re in search of today?” she asked him.

Chanyeol shifted nervously, “I’m…uh, looking for a Kim, Hee-Chul?” he asked her.

“Of course!” she smiled and gestured to a back door that had colorful beads hanging over the open doorway.  “The door on your right, dearie, my son will take care of you.”

Chanyeol thanked her and slowly made his way through the curtain of beads and walked down the bland hallway, he saw the door on his right that was marked as “Employees Only” and Chanyeol hesitated before opening the door and the stairway was lit up like a movie theaters, he walked down slowly, the stairs wrapped down and there was only three flights and then he was at another door, he could smell anything, there wasn’t any light coming out from under the door either, but it swung open without him even touching it.

A handsome man was standing on the other side, wearing hipster squared glasses, holding a glass of what looked to be wine, but wasn’t, Chanyeol could smell that it was blood, _fresh_ blood and his fangs threatened to come out.

“Ah, you must be Chanyeol! I’m Hee-Chul” the now named man greeted him, with all smiles.  “Yifan notified me that you’d be stopping by and what a surprise to hear that he expanded his coven by one!” he teased.  “I thought Tao was going to be his only lover.”

“Tao is his only partner,” Chanyeol shivered at the thought of sharing a bed with Kris.  “I’m like the kid they never got, I guess,” he shrugged.

“Hm, would make sense, vampires do get lonely and desire family,” Hee-Chul hummed.  He beckoned Chanyeol into the room and shut the door once Chanyeol was fully inside, “How many years are you?  You smell young.”

Chanyeol blinked at the words, “Uh, two-years,” he said.

“Aw, you _are_ a baby,” Hee-Chull cooed, sipping his meal.  “Well, I’ll be sure to take care of Yifan’s newly turned.”

Chanyeol murmured his thanks, still a little unnerved and looked around, the room was large, dimly, but warmly lit, there were what looked like booth chair lined against the wall, TVs mounted on a couple of the walls, but they were off, there were other rooms that were walled off, but a sizable hallway parted those rooms, he seemed to be the only one down here, “This is a donor den, right?” Chanyeol asked him.  “Your umma upstairs didn’t really clarify…”

Hee-Chul laughed, “Oh, you make me feel so young!  She isn’t really my mother, she just calls me her son, why, I’m old enough for her to be a great-granddaughter times nine to me.  She lets me do my business here as long as I protect her property,” he explained. 

“You must have ran around with Kris then,” Chanyeol said.

Hee-Chul nodded happily, “I knew him when he had only been a four-year fledgling, before he was Kris, before Tao, before he even decided to leave China!  He’s a good friend, someone I can confide to, I’m happy that he is your maker.”

Chanyeol felt pleasantly happy to hear such good things about Kris.  He moved to sit when Hee-Chul gestured for him to take a seat on one of the booth chairs that hugged the walls, “Do I need to do anything first?”

“No,” Hee-Chul shook his head, “this is your first donor den from outside of Kris’ domain, correct?”

“Yea,” Chanyeol nodded.

Hee-Chul nodded at that, he was on his phone, tapping at the screen, “He is worried that you requested a feeding so early, I know younglings such as yourself do have a bigger appetite, but usually your turned aged can last a couple weeks, it’s only been half a week.”

Chanyeol looked down, “I haven’t fed from anyone if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, I’d be able to smell it, fresh blood has a lingering smell, you’ve only been in Korea for only a few days,” Hee-Chul said calmly.  “I’m just curious as to why or what triggered you to need to feed.”

“I, uhh, met someone, they make me feel a deep hunger that I’ve never felt before,” Chanyeol confessed.  “It only took a small breath for the first time of seeing them in years and suddenly, they’re all I can think of.”

Hee-Chul hummed softly at that, “They smell more appetizing than any other human in the room?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol whispered, feeling his fangs starting to overlap his canines.  “It’s terrifying.”

“It seems that you’ve met your Siren,” Hee-Chul informed him, he saw the confusion on the young vampire’s face.  “An old term, of course, we took the term because that human’s blood seems to sing to certain vampires, at least, that is how those enchanted vampires had described it as such.  That particular human will be the only one to reduce a just fed vampire into a starving mess.”

Chanyeol stared at him, worry was on his face, “W-will I ever act on those urges?” he shakily asked.

“To be honest, with how young you are, I’m deeply surprised that you haven’t,” Hee-Chul replied.  “Your control is amazing, as those who are even a century still struggle to control themselves if they ever meet their Siren, I witnessed my own maker fall to insanity from bloodthirst of her Siren.  The Siren had been killed on battlefield and my maker hadn’t got to taste one drop of his blood and she never would, so, she burned herself to ash,” Hee-Chul murmured.

Chanyeol felt deep sorrow for the much older vampire, “I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s been ages since her passing,” Hee-Chul said softly, “I hold no grudges, I simply will grieve for her loss for what she could have had and of course, for her in general.”

“Will I go crazy?” Chanyeol asked him, lips pulling into a frown.

“How so?” Hee-Chul prompted him, seeing the sadness on Chanyeol’s face and it made him want to comfort the younger in any way.

“He hates me…or I at least think he does, he doesn’t want anything to do with me,” Chanyeol answered.  “Before I was turned, he and I had dated for a long time, throughout school and when I was leaving to go study abroad, he broke up with me.  I saw him during my first day back home and he looked at me…like I was a stranger, and then by chance, his boss had him do a photoshoot assignment with me, and then he was at my house yesterday.”

Hee-Chul exhaled slowly and patted Chanyeol’s knees sympathetically, “Oh, young one, how I do not miss being human sometimes, emotions are not as strong to overrule us as it does them.  It is hard to forget a first love, no matter how terrible they are, no matter how sweet your newest love is, no matter how painless the separation was, those first feelings and experiences will always linger and cloud how one truly feels.”

“He could still…love me?” Chanyeol hopefully asked.

“Perhaps,” Hee-Chul said gently, “or perhaps he is struggling to bury those past feelings once again when the source of them is are standing before him in the flesh.”

Chanyeol looked away guiltily, “That’s how I currently feel.  I hate to say it, but after we broke up, I hadn’t thought about him in almost six years; I tried to contact him a couple months after we first broke up, but he changed his number, and after that, I became absorbed with school work, and then I met Kris, and my whole life changed, then I became an uprising solo artist.”

“Even still, the brain remembers every wonderful moment you two had together the moment you laid eyes on him, up to the very moment of your parting,” Hee-Chul sighed.  “He was a good person, yes?”

“Still is,” Chanyeol said, “he was my first everything; I think I still love him.”

“And that’s why you’re here,” Hee-Chul said, smiling softly at him.  “If you didn’t love him, you would have fed from him until you drained every last drop of his blood from his veins and left a pale corpse behind.”

The imagery nearly left Chanyeol feeling sick, “I’d rather die than _ever_ hurt him.”

Hee-Chul’s smile was kind, “And it’s because vampires like you are the reason why I have faith in the future of our kind,” he praised.  “Now, come follow me, I picked out a couple donors with the flavor of your favorite choice.”

Chanyeol was quick to follow.

~~~

Baekhyun was sitting on the window lounge, the pillows were long ago broken in from how much he sat there, elbow resting on the windowsill as he watched cars driving down the street below and watched planes glide through the clear morning sky.

“Did you call in?”

Baekhyun glanced Minseok’s reflection in the glass of the window, “Yea, I wanted to take an extended weekend,” he muttered, going back to look at the activity below, pointedly ignoring Minseok, as he was feeling rather annoyed.

Minseok stifled a sigh, it was Friday, Jongdae was already gone for an early morning shift at the kennels and wouldn’t get off work until five in the afternoon, so he’d be home around six after fighting through traffic, and Minseok was teaching the afternoon class for Kindergarten, “A heads-up would have been nice.”

“Why?  You and Jongdae already removed every fucking sharp thing out of the kitchen, shoelaces and belts hidden, safety plugs covering the sockets, lighters are gone, and even the fucking tub stopper is gone,” Baekhyun listed off angrily, turning to glare at Minseok, “I couldn’t even make toast because the fucking toaster is gone!  I had to spread butter onto my bread with a goddamn bendy straw!”

“Baekhyun, we only react like this because you’ve done this before, it always starts with coming home late, we don’t need another incident, we’ve been lucky the first two times, I don’t want anymore close calls anymore,” Minseok said sternly, he ignored the scoff Baekhyun answered him with and watched the younger turn away from him, pulling the dark hood of his hoodie over his head.  He calmly sat on the cushioned bench that Baekhyun was curled up on, “We don’t want you to leave you alone to your thoughts when you starting to relapse, it delays you from getting better.”

“I’m _never_ going to be better,” Baekhyun grumbled, burying his face into his knees that he had brought up to his chest.  “I fucking freak out no matter what.”

“Have you been regularly keeping up with your meds?” Minseok asked him.  “You’ve been good with them for these last few months.”

“Yea, but Jongdae still locked them up somewhere, he made me take me my daily dosage before he went to work today,” Baekhyun replied; he knew it was always better to tell the truth, as it meant that his roommates wouldn’t hover over him for so long and would give him the space he wanted.

Minseok nodded, “It won’t be for long, we’ll start putting things back soon,” he promised.  “I’ll have Jongdae stop by during lunch to check in, but you still shouldn’t be here alone.”

He was leaving at ten, Jongdae didn’t take lunch until 11:30 and it would take him about 20-minutes to get home, he could stick around for another 20-minutes before needing to leave back to work, Minseok wouldn’t be home until eight because he had a parent-teacher conference this night as well; it was all just terrible timing and it left Minseok feeling paranoid.

Baekhyun just shrugged at him, “Whatever…I’ll still be here.”

The older man pondered if he should have a standby nurse come and stay with Baekhyun until Jongdae got home, but the last time the couple did that, Baekhyun lived in his office at work for almost a month; living off of takeout and instant noodles, showered at the gym his work provided, and did his laundry at the laundry mat that was across from his office.

“Hey, why don’t you invite Chanyeol over?” Minseok asked him.  He heard Baekhyun’s neck pop from how fast he looked at him, anger written on his face, “Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t,” Baekhyun growled.  He fixed his glare outside, “I just don’t want to see him anymore.”

“Well, I don’t think it could hurt, it’s obvious you still like him…you said it yourself, I just don’t understand the mixed signals though,” Minseok frowned.

“It’s complicated,” Baekhyun huffed, still glaring out the window.

“Doesn’t seem so complicated, you’re wearing his old Coldplay hoodie from high school, aren’t you?” Minseok gestured to the old hoodie, he couldn’t even see the album art work under the barely legible band’s name.  “I saw him wearing that hoodie in a picture, it was of the two of you, it was in your desk drawer at your office, I was looking for your phone charger and I stumbled upon it a long time ago.  He looks so much different now from when he did.”

“Stop,” Baekhyun whispered, tucking his face back into his knees.  He rested his chin over his knees, “He’s part of the reason why I’m like this.”

“Did he break up with you to move to California to become this big hotshot that he is now?” Minseok asked him curiously.

“No that’s not Chanyeol,” Baekhyun defended the idol a little hotly.  “Chanyeol couldn’t hurt a fly; he’s afraid of all bugs,” he smiled sadly.  His smile faded and the dull look returned to his eyes, “I broke up with him.”

That surprised Minseok and he wanted to ask Baekhyun more, but he could tell that Baekhyun was closing himself off, he was upset and hurt and he exhaled softly, “Thank you for sharing that with me, Baekhyun.”

“You’re my friend, Minseok,” Baekhyun shrugged, not looking the elder in the eye.  “You were bound to find out sometime.”

Minseok watched Baekhyun turn to rest his cheek on his knee to continue to overlook the city; he wouldn’t be getting anything else out of Baekhyun.  He got up to make himself coffee, it was still early in the morning and he made cinnamon oatmeal for Baekhyun and himself, but he could already tell that Baekhyun wasn’t in an eating mood, but it still wouldn’t hurt to try.

Baekhyun’s chest hurt, it hurt to breathe, and his eyes watered; he wished that he turn back time.

~~~

Chanyeol let out a harsh breath, breathing raggedly for a few minutes; his whole body felt like a livewire, he was tingling from head to toe and he felt drunk for the first time in two years; he could see the addiction of fresh blood.

He licked his lips, removing the rest of the semidried blood with his tongue and slumped back onto the couch; he could feel _everything_.  Chanyeol blinked blearily, not seeing the dim lamps hanging above him, he felt so good, relaxed, and full, as he never fed like this at Kris’, usually he just drank from blood bags, which weren’t the same as coming directly from a warm body.

Hee-Chul had let him feed from two different donors, Chanyeol was proud of himself that he’d hadn’t potentially harmed either one of them, they were weak from blood loss, but all they would need is rest, a hearty meal, and water.

“They aftereffects of feeding will leave you a little hypersensitive,” Hee-Chul said, moving into the enclosed room, he saw that Chanyeol looked practically boneless and was staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling.  “Do you need anything else?”

Chanyeol shook his head and slowly sat up, “That’s so dangerous,” he murmured.

“Feeding from humans?  It is, but I trust your control,” Hee-Chul said.  “You have a Siren, who will hopefully accept you and let you feed from them.”

A harsh spike of arousal shot up Chanyeol’s spine, which that was odd, he hadn’t felt anything close to sexual desire after he had been turned, they only desire he sometimes felt was a need to sink his fangs into something.

Hee-Chul coughed quietly into his fist and turned his face away slightly, “I’m guessing Kris is still awkward…oh, I cannot believe I’m about to give a grown adult, fledgling vampire the sex talk.”

“ _What?_ ” Chanyeol shrilled, snapping his attention over to the much older vampire, who was nervously rubbing the back of his neck.  He actually felt his cheeks redden and he slapped his hands to his skin, “What the fuck?”

“That’s another thing, feeding from humans directly,” Hee-Chul pointed to the hue that appeared on Chanyeol’s face.  “When you directly feed, instead of drinking from blood bags or whatever substitute vampires find, the fresh blood is more effectively absorbed into our bodies, giving us temporary liveliness, such as being warm, blushing, and…being capable to partake in intercourse.”

Chanyeol felt his face get warmer and his shook his head with disbelief, “You’re telling me that I can only get my dick up is when I fucking drink from a human?!”

“Yah, you young vampires and your vulgar words!” Hee-Chul hissed, covering his ears.  “I may be old, but I’m still innocent in ways!”

Chanyeol felt more affronted than Hee-Chul and somewhat relieved, because he figured that was another price of being immortal that he’d never be able to have sex again.  Given that he was hopeless romantic and could wait patiently until his partner was ready, he still was a man, a man with a libido that he wanted to take care of, even if he hadn’t had an intimate partner since Baekhyun, he hadn’t even slept with Braden, who was literally a clone of Baekhyun, just Americanized. Chanyeol still would have reoccurring wet dreams of Baekhyun and he’d take care of it himself, no matter how sad and pathetic he felt because he couldn’t move on, and then one day, sleep boners, morning wood, or boners in general were no longer a thing after a day of being turned.

“The effects will only last a couple days, I’m afraid,” Hee-Chul continued after uncovering his ears.  “So use those days wisely,” he was giving Chanyeol a firm stare to not overshare his plans.

“I’m not some pervert,” Chanyeol grumbled.  He poked his cheeks and found it so weird that he had warmth in his face again, his fingers even felt warm, “But thank you for…being so informative.”

Hee-Chul merely nodded, “Of course, young one, just tell Kris that he owes me a drink.”

“Can vampires get drunk when they feed from humans directly?” Chanyeol asked him.

“No, the only buzz you will feel is from drinking from a human, but it feels just the same, does it not?” Hee-Chul questioned him.

“Mm, yea,” Chanyeol nodded, the tingling in his limbs was still there, but he figured it was because his body was absorbing the blood and giving him the effects of fresh blood in his system.  He pushed himself off the recliner, he was glad that he hadn’t smelled anything weird when he had first entered the room, it was all dressed up to be comfortable, which it was, Chanyeol appreciated that, and the two donors he had been put into one of Hee-Chul’s trances and Hee-Chul taught him where to bite and how long to feed.

The elder vampire had also explained that even if the donors were in a trance, they wouldn’t feel the pain of the bite, especially from the numbing venom that all vampires had, because some had trouble putting humans under and relied heavily on the venom to make the humans docile.

As Chanyeol helped Hee-Chul wipe the area clean from where a little blood shed had slipped by, he asked him if there were any rabid vampires who fed on humans in broad daylight.

“Mm, not that I know of and I’m usually deeply invested in the news, there haven’t been any “strange” murders, no missing people, nothing that could point to us,” Hee-Chul answered him.  He tossed the wipes into a biohazard bag and had Chanyeol do the same, “But that doesn’t mean that some vampires aren’t clever enough to get away from it.  Just keep your wits about you, Chanyeol, there are some who probably are rogue and follow their own rules, but know this society is far more dangerous and advanced than back in the day.”

Chanyeol nodded seriously at that, “I promise to keep a lookout, I don’t want any of us to get hurt because one vampire couldn’t keep his fangs to himself.”

Hee-Chul laughed at that, patting Chanyeol on the shoulder, “Oh, Kris did raise a good one!”

If Chanyeol got one more praise, he was certain his cheeks would be red forever, even if his body had completely absorbed the fresh blood.  After he helped finished cleaning the room with Hee-Chul, they both had a cup of tea on the balcony upstairs, they watched pedestrians walking in clusters on the sidewalks.

“Ah, the air is always so nice around this time of year,” Hee-Chul sighed happily.  “The air is crisp and fresh and not humid that isn’t ruined by the reek of human sweat.”

Chanyeol could agree with that, while California didn’t get humid because it was mostly just dry heat, it didn’t mean that he was free from the smell of humans trying to survive the heat.  He finished his tea, he didn’t want a lot as he was feeling completely full that it was a little uncomfortable, “Will you ever visit Kris and Tao?” he asked when they were just basking in the silence.

“Hm, I’ve thought about it before, but I’ve been much too busy with my business lately,” Hee-Chul replied.  “How is it there now during this season?”

“California is mostly bearable, but where Kris lives in Vancouver, it’s consistently sleeting right now,” Chanyeol told him and he saw the disgusted shiver roll through Hee-Chul’s body.

“Yuck, maybe I’ll wait until the summer,” Hee-Chul mumbled.  “I don’t like the rain, nor sleet, nor snow, and when it starts to do that here, I practically go into hibernation.”

“Can vampires actually do that?” Chanyeol asked him, tilting his head curiously.

“It’s more of a deeper meditation, which could have been risky back in the day, but now since these are modern times and aren’t under a threat from other vampires or even a ragtag team of hunters, vampires can put themselves into a deep meditation, it’s more peaceful, unlike the forced meditation when being Grounded,” Hee-Chul explained.

Chanyeol shook a little at that word, he knew it wasn’t a good thing to be Grounded, he had only witnessed that process once and that all Chanyeol needed to know that he’d never act out because the Elders were terrifying on their own, he was sure he would have died again if they were sentencing him to be put under ground for who knows how many centuries, he just knew that a vampire could last four months exactly without needing to feed before their body would ultimately shut down, they would still have a conscious of course, but the vampire would be trapped in their own body that would be stiff from malnourishment and have a reaction that was equal to rigor mortis, but the stiffness wouldn’t fade away until they had been given fresh blood.

Tao hadn’t withheld any information from him that night and Chanyeol had clung to him in pure fear, he remembered Tao’s promises that he’d never let anything happened to Chanyeol like that, but Chanyeol knew he was just saying it to be reassuring, as unfortunately, Tao had no leverage over the Elders.

“I don’t like to be under that long, because the darkness starts to become suffocating,” Chanyeol murmured, fiddling with his mug.

“Rest is still important, even if you don’t need more than an hour of it,” Hee-Chul reminded.  “A focused mind keeps vampires in touch with themselves and have proper control.  Most accidents happen because vampires refuse to meditate and they lose grip of their control and act like a minute turned fledgling.”

Chanyeol nodded, keeping it as a personal note, “That first minute was terrifying, even though Kris told me what he was going to do,” he mused.  “My senses were overwhelmed, my throat felt like it was caked with sand, my body was one solid ache for two days, ugh, I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

“I’m glad you were in a safe environment, I at least hope Yifan put you somewhere safe during your change,” Hee-Chul said carefully.

“He did, I was taken to a temple dedicated to his lineage, Tao had been turned there to because our initials along with our birthday and date of our turn is inscribed on a plaque in the tomb,” Chanyeol informed him.  “It’s very small of course, well, Kris’ is, the rest of his lineage plaques have the original makers that branched off with everyone they’ve turned.  Kris is the sole survivor of his coven, so he put a new plaque with his own turned coven and the covens of his allies to make it feel warmer.”

“Ah, he’s so traditional, it’s nice,” Hee-Chul smiled.  “How much longer do you have here before you can return to him?”

“I’m staying for a couple weeks,” Chanyeol replied.  He fidgeted a little, “Maybe…I’ll stay another week, to see if the extra time will change my status with my ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh, yes, your Siren,” Hee-Chul nodded seriously.  “I’m always happy to help and if you ever need a safe place to talk to him about your new life, my den is always open.”

“Thank you, Hyung,” Chanyeol bowed his head to him and felt relief trickle through him.

Hee-Chul laughed and ruffled Chanyeol’s hair, “Anything for a little brother.”

They spoke for a little while longer before Chanyeol said he needed to get home, as his mother was returning from work soon, and he promised to make dinner for her.  He thanked Hee-Chul for everything before leaving the flower shop, he thanked the owner for her help as well before heading towards his jeep.

He stopped a small market to pick up some salad mix and was looking at dressing toppings for his mother when he heard someone clear their throat, Chanyeol glanced over and saw that it was Jongdae, “Oh, hello,” he greeted him.

“Hello, pretty small world, isn’t it?” Jongdae mused.  He glanced around them and saw that there were some school girls here getting lunch, but were distracted because their current idol was standing somewhat near them and he laughed softly, looking back at the sandwiches before him.

Chanyeol decided on the dressing and put it in the basket he was carrying and went closer to Jongdae, “Did you guys eat last night?”

“Yes!” Jongdae’s smile was bright and friendly.  “It was very good, thank you for sharing with us.”

Chanyeol smiled in return, “I’ll tell my mom you guys liked it.”

“Oh, we should return those containers to you,” Jongdae said.  “I’m on my lunch right now, picking something up for Baekhyun and I, did you want to swing by and get them?”

“Sure, if you wouldn’t mind, I wouldn’t want you guys to drive almost an hour to just drop of some containers,” Chanyeol replied.  He stood in line with Jongdae, “Did you drive?”

“No, transportation was shockingly faster than me actually driving,” Jongdae mused.  “I’m still a bit of an overly cautious driver and have to leave at least 30 minutes early to get where I need to be on time.”

Chanyeol chuckled as he paid for his stuff, “No harm there, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Yea,” Jongdae agreed.

“I can drive us to your apartment,” Chanyeol suggested once they stepped outside, he gestured to his jeep that was in the parking lot.  He saw Jongdae nod and he led the way, unlocking the doors with his fob and he put his bag in the back seat behind his seat.

Jongdae slid into the passenger’s seat and clicked his seatbelt on, “Thanks for the ride, fancy meeting you too,” he laughed.

“It’s not a problem,” Chanyeol reassured him.  “How is Baekhyun?  He seemed pretty upset last night…”

“Yea…” Jongdae’s cheery attitude faded a little.  “Was he like that with you too?”

“Not the whole night, just when my umma made us dinner, he ate one bite before flipping out that he had to leave,” Chanyeol frowned.  “He’s never acted like that before…”

“You two dated back in high school, right?” Jongdae asked him, vaguely remembering the conversation back in Baekhyun’s office.  At Chanyeol’s nod, Jongdae continued, “If he wasn’t like that during your relationship, then it had to have happened after your breakup,” he didn’t try to sound accusing and he grimaced that it did sound like he was pointing fingers.

“He broke up with me, it was the day that I was flying out to California,” Chanyeol told him.  He could feel Jongdae’s sympathetic stare and he kept his eyes on the road, “I’m not trying to pry information from you or Minseok, but I did ask him if it had something to do with Baekhyun’s mother passing away.”

Jongdae nervously bit at his bottom lip, “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries with Baekhyun’s trust, he gives so little of it these days.”

“I understand, sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable spot,” Chanyeol apologized meekly.

“No, I get it, you still care for Baekhyun, right?” Jongdae asked him, he saw Chanyeol nod.  “Maybe he’ll tell you, but when he’s ready of course.  It took him a few months to fully open up to Minseok and I, even when we all had been living together.”

Chanyeol’s stomach bottomed out at that, if it took them months and they had been friends, Chanyeol was afraid that Baekhyun wouldn’t even budge.  He glanced at Jongdae, “How did you guys meet him.”

“Oh, we all went to a community college,” Jongdae replied.  “Cheaper for kids who don’t have complete financial support, which, I thought was weird for him, because he had a full ride to some really prestigious college, I don’t know what he was going to major in though.”

“He wanted to major in theater,” Chanyeol said softly, “he always sang, he has a beautiful voice, he loved acting too, he was only happy when people were laughing and having a good time.”

Jongdae was staring at him in surprise, “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol replied a little defensively on Baekhyun’s behalf.  “I wanted him to come to California with me, but he had already been accepted to a nice college here.  I don’t know if he ever got accepted to the college I had gone to, he changed his number, I couldn’t get ahold of him.”

“I’m sorry, man, I had no idea, I mean, Baekhyun…never spoke about you,” Jongdae murmured softly, keep his eyes low.

“I’m not really surprised, I’m an ex,” Chanyeol chuckled hollowly.  He saw the apartment complex coming up and he parked his jeep on the curb, he heard Jongdae whistle lowly, “Hm?”

“I just realized that you didn’t even ask for directions,” Jongdae said, awed.

“Photographic memory,” Chanyeol said, tapping his temple.  “A gift and a curse.”

“Bet it comes in handy with songs though,” Jongdae commented as he undid his seatbelt.  “Did you want to come up for a second?  I mean…I don’t want it to be awkward, your call, dude.”

Chanyeol hated that he didn’t even think about it, just instantly agreed and got out of his jeep, he really hoped that Jongdae wasn’t judging him from how quickly he got out of the jeep.  He followed Jongdae up the path and up the stairs, his heart would be pounding in his chest if it still beat; he heard music playing from the apartment, he was the only one who could hear it and he froze mid step; it was Radiohead.

Jongdae got his keys out and unlocked the door, “Oh, Baekhyunnie, I’m home!” he trilled loudly.  “I bring sandwiches and pop!”

Chanyeol could only hear _“Creep”_ being played and he heard Baekhyun humming softly along with the lyrics, there was water running as well; he must have been in the shower.

Jongdae sat the food on the kitchen table and waltzed over to the bathroom door that was a little down the hall, he rapped a few times loudly before pushing the door open, “Just letting you know I’m home for lunch!” he called and heard Baekhyun say that he would be out in a minute.

Chanyeol heard Jongdae come back, he stood a bit awkwardly by the front door and saw Jongdae wave him in in towards the living room, he stepped closer, “Sorry, I just don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not,” Jongdae said, waving him still to come and sit down.  “You want half of my sandwich?  Trying to cut back on carbs, you’ll save me the damage.”

“Sorry, man, same here,” Chanyeol smiled at him apologetically.

“Ugh, idols and their strict diets,” Jongdae groaned, flopping back against the couch.

“You have _no_ idea,” Chanyeol sighed.  He heard the water shut off and he smelled the steam, the fruity soap of bodywash, and the fresh smell of Baekhyun; his fangs slipped from his gums without his control and he slapped a hand over his mouth and counted back to ten and held his breath.

Jongdae munched into his sandwich, he didn’t even bat an eye when Baekhyun came from the hall, only wearing boxers and yanking over the oversized hoodie, he wolf whistled when he saw Baekhyun, “Damn, boy, put some clothes on, you’ll give people the wrong idea,” he teasingly said and took another bite of his sandwich.

Baekhyun went to tell him to shove it when he got his head free, but he froze when he saw Chanyeol sitting on his couch, looking nervous and ridged as hell.  He saw Chanyeol blush for the first time since seeing him again and how he shifted nervously, shoulders up and tight, hands squeezed into fists on his lap.  Baekhyun still considered himself an expert in the studies of Chanyeol and even if no one else could tell, it was obvious to Baekhyun that Chanyeol just popped one because Baekhyun was flaunting around in one of Chanyeol’s old hoodies, which he learned early in their former relationship that Chanyeol had a kink for Baekhyun wearing his clothes; obviously, it was still a thing.

Chanyeol desperately thought of every terrifying moment of his life, even when he walked in on Kris and Tao necking like some old, raunchy people reading those cringy romance books, he thought of Grounding, he felt just as bad when he saw the guilt on Baekhyun’s face, he watched him turn away quickly and head back down the hall.

Jongdae gave Chanyeol an apologetic stare, “I guess I should have warned him.”

The vampire wanted to snap that Jongdae should have given Baekhyun a fucking text, pigeon carrier, an email, _something_ , because now Chanyeol was still trying to calm himself down; it was just his luck that he drank fresh blood and got experience some living perks again and then immediately get a boner when he saw his ex-boyfriend wearing his clothes.

Baekhyun didn’t come back out for another few minutes, he slowly walked back into the living room with a different hoodie on and sweatpants, he claimed the recliner and curled up on it, “Jongdae, you didn’t have to waste your whole lunch getting here.”

“Nah, no worries, we gotta give Chanyeol his mom’s dishes back anyway,” Jongdae shrugged.  He gave Baekhyun a scolding look, “Go eat!”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and begrudgingly got up to go get his lunch, he also grabbed the cleaned dishes from the dishrack and packed them back into the bag Chanyeol gave him.  He sat it on the counter and grabbed his food, he thanked Jongdae as he passed by him and sat down on the ground in front of the coffee table, he took small bites; he had just eaten the oatmeal Minseok made for him.

The youngest in the room looked between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, he saw that Chanyeol was keeping himself busy on his phone as Baekhyun kept his eyes glued to his food; he felt a little bad for bringing Chanyeol over, he wasn’t completely sure how messy the breakup had been.  He finished off his food and washed it down with a drink, “So, uh, Chanyeol,” Jongdae called the idol.

Chanyeol put his phone down, “Hm?”

“How long are you chilling in Korea?  They have a festival at the park by the Han River during the last weekend of this month,” Jongdae said.

“I did come home for the holidays, for a break, I’m leaving the first week of December,” Chanyeol informed him and he then smiled, “I know of the festival, my relatives would take me each year as it always fell on the weekend before my birthday.”

Baekhyun kept his gaze down; he knew that, because he went every year when they were little kids, when they were still friends early middle school, and then the next five years that they dated.  He was flipflopping through emotions currently because he wanted to be happy that Chanyeol was home for the next few weeks, but also dreading it because he didn’t want to fuck up and get attached and yearn for what he couldn't have had.

“It would be cool to meet up, don’tcha think?” Jongdae suggested lightly.  “I mean, if you can go, because you have _so_ many fans,” he added.

Chanyeol chuckled, cheeks reddening again, “Yea, I’ll have to keep that in mind; I don’t want to ruin my family’s day out.”

“Well, you have our numbers!” Jongdae chirped.  He glanced at his watch and swore softly, “Ah, I got sidetracked, I should have been out of here like ten minutes ago,” he got up and ran to the kitchen and when to the door, sitting on the floor to put his shoes on.  He looked back at Baekhyun, “Eat, Baekhyun,” he reminded when he saw that Baekhyun had only taken a couple bites from his sandwich and grinned when Baekhyun stuck out his tongue.  “Oh, Baekhyun-ssi put your mother’s dishes on the counter for you.”

“Right, I should probably go, my mother will be home soon,” Chanyeol replied, collecting the bag.  “Thank you for washing them.  Would you like for me to drop you off at the station?” he asked as he slid his shoes on.

Jongdae was putting his backpack on, “Nah, I can take the bus,” he reassured.

Baekhyun fiddled with his wrapped of his sandwich and put his food on the coffee table, “Chanyeol,” he said softly.  He saw Chanyeol almost completely turn around to face him and he felt a little nervous, “Will you have time tomorrow to help me finish up our project?  I would like to get it to Suho early next week.”

“Yea, just text me,” Chanyeol agreed easily.

“Okay, I hope you don’t mind coming back here, as my set up is placed here,” Baekhyun replied sheepishly.  He hated how his heart fluttered in his chest because of Chanyeol’s smile, “C-cool, see you tomorrow then.”

“See you,” Chanyeol answered, still having a soft grin on his face as he left the apartment.

Jongdae leaned in and gave Baekhyun a wink.

Baekhyun just flipped him off.

He was _so_ fucked.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Talk of suicide attempt, deceased family, alcoholism
> 
> A bit of a dark chapter tbh...

** Seven **

Chanyeol’s eyes opened when the sun rose, the first light came through his curtains; he stretched, even though he felt no pleasure of it, he sat up and ruffled his hair, he saw Toben blinking sleepily at him from the foot of his bed, “Hey, boy,” he murmured.  “Umma let you out yet?”

Toben’s tail just wagged in answer.

“Okay, let’s go,” Chanyeol murmured, sliding out of bed.  Toben followed at his heels, they passed his mom’s bedroom door that was ajar, Chanyeol could hear her slow breaths.  He crept down the stairs, went to the kitchen, opened the back door, Toben shot out to go roll in leaves, and take care of business, Chanyeol shut the door and would get his dog back inside in ten minutes, more than enough time to make a pot of coffee, as he already could hear his mother moving about upstairs.

“You’re up early,” came his mom’s voice, she was yawning softly, hair in a messy bun and she was bundled in a fluffy pink polka-dot robe and matching slippers.  She sat down at the table when Chanyeol put a fresh cup of coffee down next two buttered toast and a cup of freshly cut fruit.

“Yea, I don’t know when Baekhyun is going to text me, so I wanted to take care of some chores before I left,” Chanyeol replied, sitting across from her with his own cup of coffee.

His mother looked surprised, “Baekhyun?  You two are talking again?” she didn’t think that things had ended that well when Chanyeol took Baekhyun home.

“Only business-related talks,” Chanyeol murmured, looking down at the table, he traced the heat ring his mug left on the tabletop.  He sipped his coffee, “I wish it could be more than that…”

His mother patted his hand sympathetically, “Give it time, it seems he has been through a lot and still is working through some things,” his mother said gently, remembering when Baekhyun had left the house practically frantic.

Chanyeol agreed with that, he just wished he knew _what_ was wrong with Baekhyun, the only thing he was certain of was that Baekhyun was suffering from depression and seemed to keep people out of his life, the only exceptions were Minseok and Jongdae.  He didn’t want to dwell on it, he said he was going to rake the front and back yard and clean up the house a bit, as his mother was already a neat-freak, so there wasn’t much to do.

“Okay, don’t strain yourself,” his mother replied, pinching his cheek fondly.  “I’m going into town to get my hair trimmed up, so if you’re gone by the time that I come back, I just want you to be careful…and don’t get yourself hurt.”

Chanyeol tilted his head in question at that, “Umma?”

Ms. Lee looked to her son with a concerned frown, “Sweetie, I just don’t want you hurt like last time.  Don’t get me wrong, I still like Baekhyun, he still seems like a good boy, it just hurt to see you so heartbroken that it made you hide in California even during the holidays.”

He looked away guiltily at that, “I know and I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered, tucking his hands into his lap.  “It’s just sort of hard to ignore him,” he mumbled, “first love and all that,” he chuckled dryly.

“I understand that,” his mother sighed softly, she outstretched her hand and felt Chanyeol’s wrap around hers.  “Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I will,” Chanyeol nodded to her.

He cleaned up the front and backyard, even stuffing the dead leaves into garbage bags and stuck them on the edge of the street.  Chanyeol moved onto cleaning the upstairs, dusting downstairs, and sweeping the kitchen, and he just finished putting the cleaned dishes away when he felt his phone go off.

It was a text from Baekhyun, apologizing for texting so late—it was 2 in the afternoon—he hadn’t slept that well, but he was telling Chanyeol that he could come over at any time.

Chanyeol said that he was going to get cleaned up, and then after he took a quick shower and picked out a cozy outfit, he made a quick lunch for Baekhyun to be polite, and then let Toben in, told him to be good, and then he was off.

The drive was little anxiety inducing, Chanyeol just hoped he didn’t say something to irritate Baekhyun, or do something either, he was annoyed with himself from how desperate was to be on Baekhyun’s good side, which before, it hadn’t even been hard, they had been fast friends, and Baekhyun never pushed him away.

Maybe that’s just how relationships were after a breakup.

It did make Chanyeol sad at the thought of never actually rekindling anything with Baekhyun, not even a friendship, and it made him feel miserable if they couldn’t even be friends.

He text Baekhyun that he was there and was heading upstairs, he walked down the hall and stood at the door that was Baekhyun’s and knocked lightly, he heard soft footsteps on the other side, and the door was being unlocked and Chanyeol drank in the sight of a slightly ruffled Baekhyun, wearing sweatpants and an old T-shirt, his hair looked damp from a shower, and he could see the faint shadows under Baekhyun’s eyes.

“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted, letting Chanyeol inside.  He locked up the door once the taller was inside, he saw the cute cartoon bag and he raised an eyebrow when Chanyeol gifted it to him.

“Lunch, I didn’t know if you had eaten yet and a thank you for working so hard,” Chanyeol said when Baekhyun was blankly staring at it.

Baekhyun murmured a soft thanks before going to the kitchen and put it in the fridge since the bottom felt cold.  He grabbed two waters and tossed one to Chanyeol, he was startled how quickly Chanyeol caught that, “Better with hand-eye coordination?” he asked, trying to sound amused, but his tone was still flat.

“Yea, you never know how fast you may have to react when fans start throwing flowers at you,” Chanyeol mused, he heard Baekhyun scoff, and he shut his mouth, awkward following after Baekhyun after he toed off his shoes at the door.

Baekhyun walked inside his bedroom, sitting at the spinning chair was in front of his desk, his Apple monitors perched at a small angle to let him be able to see both monitors and his work, which currently had pictures on both sides.  He spun a little to the side and saw Chanyeol standing at the threshold of his door, he raised an eyebrow at that, “What are you, a vampire?  Come in here,” he beckoned.

Chanyeol’s still heart nearly leapt to his throat, “S-Sorry,” he stammered and quickly sat down on the edge of Baekhyun’s bed that was directly behind the computer set up and he could still see clearly.

“You’re being weird,” Baekhyun muttered to himself, turning face his work again.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol apologized again and he watched Baekhyun look back him for a second, surprise on his face.

“Oh, no, I was talking to myself, _I’m_ being weird,” Baekhyun clarified.  God, he hated how awkward it was between him and Chanyeol, he wanted to crawl into a hole because he felt so awful.

“You’re not,” Chanyeol replied.  “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know, because I’m not great at human interactions anymore,” Baekhyun shrugged, dragging one of the pictures he had been looking at earlier.  “What about this one?” he asked, changing the subject.

Chanyeol gave a small nod, saying that it was alright; it was the one where he was jumping out of the swing.  He never got see those pictures and he saw how happy he looked and he really wished his mood matched how he felt during that moment.

Baekhyun sighed through his nose, drumming his fingers lightly before swiveling in his seat to face Chanyeol again, “Talk to me,” he said and he saw Chanyeol’s eyes flicker over to the pictures before back at him, “and not about work, we’re clearly not going to get anywhere with it,” Baekhyun added, he powered down his computer after saving the edits he had been working on.

“Can I even talk to you without you getting upset?” Chanyeol asked.  “Because it doesn’t matter what I do, you’re upset with me.  Did you really hate me that much when we broke up?”

Baekhyun got up to shut his bedroom door, his roommates weren’t home, but they would be back sometime in the evening; they’d text him when they were on their way home.  He sat back down in his chair, sitting cross-legged, “I don’t hate you, Chanyeol.”

“Then what is it?” Chanyeol demanded, hands clenching slightly and he saw how sad Baekhyun looked.  “What happened to you?”

“You know my mom died, right?” Baekhyun asked him and he saw Chanyeol nod, his chest tightened when he saw the sadness come into Chanyeol’s eyes, he knew the artist adored her.  “It just seemed after we broke up, things just got worse,” he murmured.  “She got really sick, we had to move closer to the hospital because dad said it would be better,” he somewhat sneered at the end.

“You were unhappy with that,” Chanyeol murmured.

“Of course I was!” Baekhyun snapped.  He took a jagged calming breath and another until he calmed down somewhat and gave Chanyeol a fierce look, “He acted like moving would fix all our problems, but in reality, he was running away.  He moved away because he couldn’t stand the thought of living in a house that his wife wasn’t coming back to.  We moved into a shitty apartment and lived there when my mom was in the hospital and two years after my mom died, I dropped out of theater school because I was unhappy where I was, my father started drinking and staying out late, Baekbeom started avoiding me soon after that, after he told me that I just blew my once chance of doing something with my life and leaving our deadbeat father behind.”

Chanyeol could only listen to the soft hitching of Baekhyun’s breath, it hurt and he wanted to hug him tight, but he refrained from doing that, “That’s not all, is it?” he asked softly.

“Please, don’t be upset with me, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun pleaded softly, voice shaking, his bangs hid his face.

Chanyeol got to the floor, throwing caution to the wind, and sat before Baekhyun, his hands taking one of Baekhyun’s delicate between his own, “I could never and you know it.”

“Which makes you stupid, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun hissed, but there was no venom behind it.  He wiped at his face with his free hand, “I threw away my happiness the moment I said that we were done.  I just didn’t think that my life could have gotten worse than just us breaking up.”

“What happened to you, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol inquired him again, eyes searching Baekhyun’s, he was afraid of the answer, he guessed what had happened, but he was too scared to face it.

“After all of that, I was just done,” Baekhyun shrugged weakly, “even after I went to community college and met Jongdae and Minseok, I was just _miserable_ ,” his voice shook.  “So…so,” he swallowed the bile at the back of his throat, his stomach felt twisted and heavy and uncomfortably hot, like there was a miniature sun starting to grow there.  “I had been going to therapy, but it wasn’t working well enough, so I just decided that I was done with it.  I took a bunch of my depression pills just make it stop and I almost died in my bedroom if Jongdae and Minseok hadn’t found me.  I forgot that it was study night at my apartment, because my dad wasn’t going to be there, so they found me.”

He almost gagged at the memory, body feeling far too hot like when he nearly killed himself, his body trying to reject the overdose of pills, the way his brain fogged up, his vision spinning, his stomach clenched at the memory, and he forcefully made himself not to remember; he didn’t want to have an episode in front of Chanyeol.

Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun to him, swallowing heavily, and held him tight to his chest, feeling Baekhyun shiver and heard his sobs, “You were all alone,” he whispered, “Fuck, _I’m_ so sorry, Baekhyun, I should have tried harder to—”

“No,” Baekhyun cut him off, keeping his face tucked in Chanyeol’s shoulder.  “Don’t do that,” his voice was muffled, “I did this to myself, I pushed and pushed and pushed, I kept everyone away from me, all this is on me,” he whispered.  “I was just so stupid.  I wanted to die up until I was actually dying.”

The taller just squeezed Baekhyun to him tighter, trying to be mindful about his strength, “No more pushing people away, Baekhyun, no more pushing _me_ away,” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun wiped at his eyes and sniffled, cheeks blotched and sticky from tears, he saw how crestfallen Chanyeol look, “I broke up with you, because I knew how you would react if you knew that I didn’t get into the same school as you.  You would have thrown away your dreams to stay in Korea with me.”

“Because I loved you, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol voice trembled; he couldn’t cry, but his chest felt like it was tightening itself up like it would have if he could cry. 

“Which is why I broke up with you, I wasn’t going to let you throw away something that you’ve dedicated your whole life to, I couldn’t be the one to stand in your way, I didn’t want to see you unhappy and have regrets,” Baekhyun stated, eyes watering again.  “I’m not saying that I’d still be the same Baekhyun as before, even if we hadn’t separated, my umma would still be dead, my dad still would have made us move, I would still have been depressed and dropped out of college, I probably would have repeated every step up until where I am now, except, we probably would have still been together, if you could have handled to see me that way.”

Chanyeol gently pushed him back to wipe away Baekhyun’s tears, “I wouldn’t have left you, Baekhyun, I never would have even thought about it,” he said truthfully.

“I was a fucking mess, still am,” Baekhyun said, hiccupping softly.  He rubbed at his eyes, they felt sore and his chest hurt, “I’m sorry to just unload all of that on you.”

Chanyeol shook his head, “No, don’t apologize,” he murmured. 

Baekhyun felt himself relax when Chanyeol pulled him against his chest, his eyes slid shut and he let out a soft sigh; he breathed in the familiar cologne that Chanyeol wore and he tucked his face against Chanyeol’s neck, “You feel cold,” he murmured, pulling back to touch Chanyeol’s face, “are you cold?” he pressed his other hand against Chanyeol’s throat softly, the skin felt lukewarm at most, but chilled enough that it concerned him that something was wrong with Chanyeol.

“No, I’m fine,” Chanyeol promised, giving Baekhyun a weak smile.  His throat burned with the desire, but the worry and sorrow he felt for the human won over his instincts to feed.  Even though he still had Baekhyun in his lap, he easily still got up, holding Baekhyun and carefully sat him on the bed, “If I remember correctly, hot cocoa and a nap will cure a post-crying headache.”

Warmth swept through Baekhyun’s core, something that he hadn’t felt in a long time, “You don’t have to do that,” he murmured.

“It’s no burden to me, Baekhyun, you’re upset, I want to make you feel better,” Chanyeol reassured him, “even if it’s just one, tiny step at time; it’s still progress in my eyes.”

That squirmy feeling came back, especially when Chanyeol was giving him that soft stare when Baekhyun felt awful about something, it was the look he gave Baekhyun that said that everything would be all right and that he’d be right there if Baekhyun needed anything.

Baekhyun let himself be coddled, tucked under the covers, TV being turned on, Chanyeol even affectionately ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair; it was far different from Minseok or Jongdae, as Chanyeol’s fretting soothed an ache somewhere deep in his chest.  When he watched Chanyeol silently leave his bedroom, Baekhyun mentally berated himself, he slumped back against the pillows, “Don’t get attached, stupid, he’s leaving in a few weeks,” Baekhyun reminded himself quietly, he rolled onto his side, curling up, he felt new tears forming and he buried his face in his blanket; he was ruining everything.

Little to his knowledge of Chanyeol’s current situation, Chanyeol had heard those words, could smell the fresh salt of tears as he made Baekhyun’s drink and he guiltily stared at the mug that was in the microwave that was warming the milk.  He didn’t want to leave now, not when he knew why Baekhyun was how he was now and he couldn’t exactly just leave Kris and Tao, his creator hadn’t given him permission to move away, he was under Kris’ care and if Chanyeol had an accident, Kris would be reprimanded as well, his punishment wouldn’t be Grounding, but he would be placed under a strict watch until the Elders thought he was deemed to be trusted again.

He stirred the cocoa powder into the warm milk, a soft sigh leaving him, he didn’t know what to do.  Chanyeol doubted that Kris would keep him in the States or Canada if he knew that Chanyeol had a Siren, because from what Chanyeol learned from Hee-Chul, it wasn’t good for a vampire to be kept away from them and that that brought something akin to hostile rage within Chanyeol at the thought of being away from Baekhyun.

While Chanyeol could deal with only being friends with Baekhyun and getting his feedings from donors, the thought of being in a different country than his human made Chanyeol antsy and a bit of aggressive, like someone was challenging him, he honestly felt like a wild animal.  Baekhyun was his and his alone, platonically or domestically and like _fuck_ was someone or something going to keep Chanyeol from him; he knew he was strong and could handle his own.

He came back to Baekhyun’s room, standing a little back to calm himself down before going back to where the human was curled up under the covers, making himself small as humanly possible, Chanyeol sat the warm drink on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed, “Did you fall asleep?” he mused softly, he knew that Baekhyun wasn’t asleep, as he heard his heart started beating a bit faster, but he’d humor the little human.

Chanyeol didn’t have to wait long for Baekhyun to resurface, he smiled upon seeing Baekhyun’s flushed face and beckoned him to drink his hot cocoa before it got cold and carefully handed it over to Baekhyun who thanked him quietly.

After a few sips, Baekhyun looked over to Chanyeol, “Will you stay for dinner?” he asked quietly, cheeks pinking, giving Chanyeol a shy pleading look.

The vampire was glad that the blood he had consumed had been completely absorbed by his body, as he didn’t have an unnecessary pop-ups that he certainly didn’t want to handle while Baekhyun was near.  He also was one to never refuse Baekhyun, so he collapsed like a house of cards, “Sure, if your friends will have me.”

“They really want to get to know you better,” Baekhyun informed him.  “And certainly for you, not for your artist name,” he added, defending his roommates in case Chanyeol seemed skeptical.  “Jongdae said he felt bad having you drive him home when your fans were around, he felt like he just controlled your actions.”

“That’s nothing for him to feel bad about,” Chanyeol told him.  “Uh, Kris, my…manager, he tells me not get too close, I can talk to them briefly and what not, but never can I form any type of relationship with them, even if it’s completely platonic.”

“So…what we have right now, your manager would be frowning about it?” Baekhyun asked him nervously.

Chanyeol gave him a warm smile, “Our situation is different, you were in my life before I came Loey, so if he gets mad about me being friends with you and your roommates, then I’ll talk to him.  I would like to have normal friends who don’t act like they’re all that.”

Baekhyun’s chest felt lighter when he heard Chanyeol say that they were friends; he hadn’t fucked up too terribly, but he still frowned, “But…you’ll be moving back to the States.”

“Mm, yea…” Chanyeol mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck in a nervous habit.  “I’m going to talk about that with Kris too…I mean, my family is here, I miss seeing my sister and nephew, and definitely my mother…and if I went back, I’d miss you too,” his voice grew softer towards the end.

“I don’t know how you would, I’m not exactly the best person to be around,” Baekhyun sighed, he put his half-drank mug back on the bedside table.  He drew his knees back up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, “I feel like only Minseok and Jongdae can handle me, because they’ve witnessed me at my worst.”

“I don’t want that to happen anymore, I want to help you get better where you never fall like that again,” Chanyeol replied, voice strong, filled with promise.  “I know that us having a past relationship might be tricky with that help, but if I ever do anything that you don’t want, you can tell me to back off, I won’t get upset.”

Baekhyun bashfully looked away, “You _never_ get upset,” he murmured into his arms.

“I do sometimes,” Chanyeol argued weakly and he heard Baekhyun scoff at that.  “I do though!”

“Yea, for like two-seconds,” Baekhyun teased.  “You got pissed at me and scalded yourself with coffee, but then you were the one apologizing to _me_ when it should have been the other way around.”

“No harm, no foul,” Chanyeol shrugged indifferently.  He started a bit when Baekhyun’s softer hands gently grasped one his own, he watched his delicate fingers trace the faded veins in his hands, “Really, I wasn’t hurt.”

“I know, it was just crazy,” Baekhyun murmured, eyes tracing the dull veins.  He looked at Chanyeol with a light of concern, “Are you sure that you aren’t sick?  Because I swear to God, Chanyeol, if you do end up staying in Korea and we rebuild our friendship and you end up dying on me from some chronic illness, I will jump off a bridge.”

Chanyeol didn’t like that serious tone in Baekhyun’s voice, “Don’t ever say that again,” he pleaded.  “I’m not sick, I promise.  I just have…bad circulation.”

Baekhyun didn’t really believe it, but he didn’t argue just for the sake of Chanyeol’s pleading eyes.  He still held Chanyeol’s hand though, trapping it between his own, trying to warm it up, and he briefly thought about putting it between his legs, because Chanyeol used to do that before when they were together, but very quickly went against it.  He let out a soft sigh, “I’m tired…”

“Then nap,” Chanyeol softly replied.  He went to get up, but Baekhyun tugged on his hand, he saw the way Baekhyun’s cheeks started to turn brighter pink and he was looking up at him shyly; if his heart beat, it would be flipping in his chest right now.

“Will you stay?” Baekhyun asked him.  “Until I fall asleep?”

Chanyeol nodded, too afraid to speak, he clicked the table lamp off, the only light was from the sun filtering in dimly from the sides and the TV that was muted.  He settled a little awkwardly, but it lessened when Baekhyun practically used him as a body pillow, which even that should have been weird, but this was the Baekhyun he remembered, he was super affectionate and cuddled a lot with close friends, Chanyeol remembered that they held hands often, and that his right hand felt a little colder than usual when they had separated for the day back to their own houses because they had school in the morning.

Baekhyun nuzzled into the soft cotton of Chanyeol’s sweater, “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Anytime,” Chanyeol answered easily and listened to Baekhyun’s breaths slowly even out; he let his eyes shut too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the day delay! My heart stopped because Onew's new song dropped and then EXO's new MV teaser dropped too and I'm suing for emotional distress!!!

** Eight **

The front door opened to the apartment, but Chanyeol didn’t panic, he breathed in once and could tell that it was Minseok and Jongdae, their voices were muffled from the closed door to Baekhyun’s room, but he could clearly tell that they were talking about making dinner, the rustle of plastic bags, food being placed on the counter, cabinet doors opening and closing.

Chanyeol heard muffled footsteps coming towards the bedroom and he didn’t open his eyes, he heard a very soft knock, a pause, before the door handle was being twisted open, he could smell that it was Minseok, he heard his breath hitch slightly before the door was closing and his footsteps hurrying away.

“ _…bed with Baekhyun!”_

_“What?!”_

Their voices were a pitch lower and Chanyeol had to even strain his ears to listen.

_“They’re so cute together though, Dae.”_

_“I bet…I wonder if they’ll ever get back together…”_

_“Chanyeol seems like a good person still, I trust him with Baekhyunnie, I mean, he was there first.”_

Chanyeol didn’t bother to listen any further; he had their approval and that made him feel good, as he was worried that the two who watched over Baekhyun wouldn’t think he was good enough because of his slightly crazy lifestyle of being a solo artist.

He relaxed again briefly and jumped a bit when Baekhyun made one of his whimpering sounds and Chanyeol’s still heart nearly melted in his chest; he still made those soft sleepy sounds and Chanyeol nearly rolled over in habit to kiss Baekhyun’s cheeks and forehead.  He did feel Baekhyun shiver, which he didn’t know why, they were covered with a blanket and Baekhyun’s heat had seeped into Chanyeol’s clothes, warming Chanyeol to at least a lukewarm temperature.

The whimpering started again, but Chanyeol thought it trailed off more into a gasp and he was worried that Baekhyun was having a nightmare, he was about to shake him awake when he felt it, Chanyeol’s eyes shot down to where his legs were, but they were covered, Baekhyun was lying on his side, one leg hooked over Chanyeol’s, pressed up against him, Chanyeol was feeling _what_ was pressed up against his thigh, and slender fingers curled into Chanyeol’s sweater.  Chanyeol could _taste_ the arousal and he muffled a groan, because Baekhyun’s scent was so much sweeter, enticing, and if he didn’t leave right now, Chanyeol was afraid that he’d give into his need feed.

He tried to pull away and Baekhyun let out a soft whine and Chanyeol locked up and felt Baekhyun nuzzle his face into his sweater, Chanyeol saw Baekhyun’s eyes flutter softly.

“Yeol?” Baekhyun sleepily murmured.  He murmured tiredly and rolled himself onto his belly and inched up to place a chase kiss to his jaw, “Wake me when Umma is done making dinner,” he whispered, exhaling slowly and tucked himself back to Chanyeol’s side.

Meanwhile, Chanyeol was stock-still and could tell that Baekhyun was asleep again and Chanyeol managed to slip away this time and quietly snuck out of Baekhyun’s bedroom and could smell the kimbap and freshly grilled meat and spices, he heard Jongdae and Minseok talking, smelled the wine that Jongdae sipped from and the sake Minseok would take a sip of when he was done rolling the kimbap.

“Oh, Chanyeol, you’re so quiet!” Minseok gasped, he had just happened to see the taller in the corner of his eye.  “You’re staying for dinner, right?”

Chanyeol nodded a little lifelessly, still in shock, taking a seat when Jongdae beckoned him to sit down.  He could still feel the warmth of Baekhyun’s lips pressed to his skin and he almost touched his jaw, but refrained from doing that, as he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

“Everything all right?” Minseok asked, he looked at Chanyeol and saw that the artist was very quiet, staring at the kitchen table, he looked pale.  He glanced over to Jongdae who gave him a shrug and Minseok looked back to Chanyeol, “You know, we won’t judge you if this is about Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol rubbed at his face, fingers ghosting over the warmth that had now faded, “He kissed me,” he whispered.

The knife Jongdae had been using to slice up more carrots clattered to the ground, nearly stabbing him in the foot as he gawked at Chanyeol, he could see Minseok in his peripheral, who was just as shocked.

“I mean, on my jaw, he was still half asleep, I think he was dreaming that he was back in his childhood home,” Chanyeol clarified.  He looked over to the couple, “He told me everything, or at least, I think he did.  He worked himself up and needed a nap,” he told them.  He looked down at his hands that were clenched into fists on his lap, “I should have tried harder to be in his life, instead, I just let him slip through my fingers and continued with my life.  It didn’t even occur to me that he…that he was fucking White Fanging me, because he didn’t want me to worry about him when I moved to California, or…give it all up to stay here and be here with him.”

Minseok moved to sit across from Chanyeol, “Hey,” he said soothingly, “don’t beat yourself up, okay?  I know that Baekhyun wouldn’t like you berating yourself like this.  You two were young when you broke up, but you’re both mature enough now to know what you want.”

“I wouldn’t mind being with him again…I think I still love him,” Chanyeol admitted to them quietly, afraid that they’d judge him, but Minseok just gave him a gentle smile, Jongdae had picked the knife up and put it in the sink and poured Chanyeol a glass of wine before going over to them and sat it in front of the idol.

“We like you,” Jongdae grinned, “we may not know you as well as Baekhyun, but we can tell that you’re a good person, we trust that you’d be a greater good in Baekhyun’s life.”

“If he’ll have me, I mean, even if it was just as friends,” Chanyeol mumbled. 

Minseok gave him a curious look, “You think he’d reject you?”

“Maybe…I don’t know, I just don’t want to make him uncomfortable,” Chanyeol said, an unhappy look on his face.  “I just want to make sure that he’ll be okay.”

“He will be,” Jongdae promised, a determined gleam in his eyes.  “Minseok and I will make sure that he’ll never be alone and it will be better if you’re there too, so it’s just us two smothering him, but I mean, only if you think that you can be there for him.”

“I’ll try the best that I can,” Chanyeol told them earnestly.  “I have a bit of chaotic schedule…and in a few weeks, I’m going back to Canada briefly to visit with my manager, but I will talk to him about moving back here.”

Minseok gave him a surprised look, “You want to move back here?”

“I mean, my family is here, I really only moved to America for the schooling, I wanted to move back once I was done, I just hadn’t expected to get a records label during my time in California,” Chanyeol explained to them.  “My manager has some contacts here, I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem with me moving back home; he’s a very nice and understanding person.”

“I hope that he will understand,” Jongdae agreed, taking a sip of his wine.  “Did you tell Baekhyun?”

“Yes, he didn’t seem against it,” Chanyeol nodded.  He grabbed the wine that Jongdae poured him and took a drink; he only tasted the bitterness of the grapes, it left a slight rotten aftertaste and he masked his disgust.

Jongdae gave him a warm smile, “Then that’s good!  I hope you two do get closer.”

Minseok was nodding in agreement, “He wouldn’t feel so lonely with only Jongdae and myself looming over him.”

“Can’t say I won’t be any better, I have a bit of a protective streak,” Chanyeol sheepishly admitted.  His own abandonment issues shaped him to be a little overbearing about his attachments and now with his immortal situation and Baekhyun being his Siren…he was worried that he would crowd Baekhyun too much.

“Well, as long as he doesn’t mind, then I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Jongdae mused.  “We need to finish making dinner, we’ll let you guys know when it’s done.”

“Do you want help with it?” Chanyeol asked them, he may not eat anymore, but he knew how to cook still and hadn’t messed up just yet.

Minseok waved him off, “Nah, just watch over Baekhyunnie, you can deal with his fussiness when he has to be woken up,” he laughed.  He got back up and Jongdae followed him back to the island counter to finish making the kimbap, he was going to make a simple miso soup too and fried vegetables with rice for Baekhyun.

Chanyeol stood back up too and silently made his way back to Baekhyun’s bedroom and found the shorter curled up in the spot that Chanyeol had occupied and sat on the floor by the edge where Baekhyun was closest; he brushed the auburn bangs back that fell into Baekhyun’s face, letting his fingers ghost down the warm, soft skin, he wanted to kiss the small freckle that was a little above Baekhyun’s lips and the other freckle near his eye; he loved those beauty marks.

He carefully laced their fingers together and rested his other arm on the bed and used it as a pillow as he looked over Baekhyun; he felt creepy and little cringy, but Baekhyun was too beautiful to look away from and he wanted to engrave this moment into his memory forever.

Chanyeol felt his lips upturn in a small grin when Baekhyun murmured sleepily again and he nuzzled close, feeling Baekhyun’s heat soak into him, it was comforting and he was surrounded by the soft scent of the human.

He couldn’t leave now.

~~~

Waking Baekhyun was as difficult as it had been back when they were in school, Chanyeol nudged him and Baekhyun swatted his hand away, he then dragged the blankets off and Baekhyun curled up in a ball, whining and cuddled his pillow close to him, Chanyeol finally let out an aggravated sigh and crawled onto the bed and his hands went straight to Baekhyun’s sides.

The reaction was immediate, Baekhyun shrieked and flailed to get away from Chanyeol and tried to roll off the bed and Chanyeol snatched him back up before he hit the floor, heat immediately rushed to Baekhyun’s cheeks when Chanyeol’s hands remained on his hips, keeping him close, his own hands were on Chanyeol’s broad shoulders, fingers digging into the fabric of his soft sweater.

All the vampire could hear was the fast flutter of Baekhyun’s heart that was music to his ears, his eyes traced the flush that raced up his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose; he wanted to kiss Baekhyun.  Chanyeol made sure that Baekhyun wouldn’t fall off the bed as he slowly released him, “We shouldn’t keep your roommates waiting.”

“R-right,” Baekhyun stammered, hastily looking away from Chanyeol’s intense stare; it made him a little nervous how collected Chanyeol seemed, his face had remained almost stoic and it unnerved him.  He took Chanyeol’s hand and let the idol pull him up off the bed and collected his mug that had his drink in it, he led the way to the connected dining room, he greeted his friends and went to the sink to rinse out the mug and would wash it later, he’d be doing the dishes as Minseok and Jongdae cooked; he still couldn’t help but notice that there weren’t any knives in the sink ready to be washed.

Jongdae saw the way Baekhyun’s gaze hesitated on the sink and he asked Baekhyun to get waters for them as he moved plates to the kitchen table, he saw Chanyeol helping Minseok with the cups and utensils, and he set the plates and bowls down.  He watched Baekhyun bring in water bottles and set them down, “Thank you,” he smiled and he felt guilt budding when Baekhyun simply nodded, not looking at him.

Chanyeol could sense the tension and glanced between Baekhyun and Jongdae, he looked at Minseok, who gave Chanyeol a soft frown and lightly shook his head, before going back to placing the cooked kimbap and side dishes on the kitchen table.

Baekhyun saw that the kettle had hot water and made himself and Chanyeol green tea, he at least hoped Chanyeol still liked tea.  He brought those mugs into the kitchen and sat one in front of Chanyeol, giving him a small smile and sat to the left of him.

When Jongdae and Minseok sat down, Chanyeol thanked them for dinner, Baekhyun murmuring his thanks too, even though Chanyeol was younger than all of them, it was still Jongdae and Baekhyun preparing plates and passing them around, which made Chanyeol feel a little out of place. 

He also found it a little ironic that he would be frozen at this age for the rest of forever, looking so young, but be old, out living his nephew’s generation, and his nephew’s children, it wouldn’t end, not until Chanyeol ended his own immortality, or another vampire gone rogue, or if a streak of vampire hunters came back and knew how to hunt him down.

Dinner wasn’t as awkward as Chanyeol feared, it was mostly Jongdae and Minseok doing the talking, Chanyeol answered any of their questions and talked of his own adventures, life in America, he felt a little awkward talking about it, but Baekhyun looked happy with his stories.

“I’ll help you with the washing up,” Chanyeol said to Baekhyun when everyone had finished dinner, he managed to eat a whole piece and a half of kimbap and almost a whole bowl of miso soup without feeling ill.  It would never be filling as blood, but he did feel less hungry, which he was grateful for and could actually focus on helping with the dishes.

Minseok was putting the leftovers in the fridge and he saw the puppy cartoon corgi patterned lunch bag, “Oh, did you bring this?” he asked Chanyeol.

“Yes,” Chanyeol nodded.

Baekhyun peered from around Chanyeol, “You guys are scavengers,” he pouted, “if he packed a slice of cake in there, leave it!  The lunch is technically mine anyway.”

“We’re not a band of thieves!” Minseok defended himself and Jongdae.  He poked his pointer fingers together, “But if it’s anything that Chanyeol or his umma made…will you share, please?”

Baekhyun promised that he would and went back to washing the dishes, letting Chanyeol dry them and set them off to the side, he was washing a plate when he sighed quietly, “They still don’t trust me.”

Chanyeol took the plate that Baekhyun passed him, “They worry about you.”

“If I wanted to try and take my life again, I wouldn’t slit my wrists; it takes too long to bleed out if you don’t do it right and I’m no expert,” Baekhyun mumbled.

Chanyeol kept his eyes on the cup he was drying now, “Sure seems like you put some thought into it,” he said offhandedly.

The shorter only shrugged at him, “Maybe I have, but I wouldn’t do it though,” Baekhyun replied.  “I almost cry when I get papercuts.”

Chanyeol nudged him lightly with his hip, “You didn’t talk much during dinner, everything okay?” he asked.

“Yea, I was just a little upset, but I’m okay,” Baekhyun told him.  “I don’t like it when they baby me...”

“They’re just worried and they have a right to be worried about you,” Chanyeol said carefully, still wanting to defend the couple.  “It’s good to know that you have people who love you and take precautions when they’re worried about their loved ones.”

Baekhyun snorted quietly, “Yea, me living with them must be another precaution then,” he muttered.  “After spending four weeks in the psych ward, Minseok managed to get me out early because he said that he and Jongdae were going to be my emergency contacts and that I’d be moving in with them, because my dad clearly didn’t care and my brother hadn’t responded to any voicemails left by my treating physician.”

“I’m sorry you had to endure that alone,” Chanyeol murmured, keeping his eyes on the bowl he was drying.  “I wish I could have been there.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, I did it to myself,” Baekhyun sighed.  “Could have been worse, so I just try to make myself not think about it and move on with my life.”

Chanyeol didn’t really like that answer, but he knew better than start an argument.  He finished drying the rest of the dishes and helped Baekhyun put them up, he felt oddly domestic with him, the way they easily fell in sync with each other and moved around the kitchen.

They were finished rather quickly and Jongdae had already poured them more drinks, except for Baekhyun, as he didn’t like to drink anyway.  They made small talk again while watching a gameshow, making jokes, and tossing out snide remarks of unfair calls, Baekhyun was even happier and upbeat, making jibes at his roommates for terrible bets.

Chanyeol was happy to see Baekhyun smiling so brightly, he hadn’t witnessed such joy from him since seeing him.  He was happy to sit next Baekhyun and bask in warmth of him, be in his world, he didn’t want to forget this moment.

They watched one more match before Chanyeol felt a weight against his shoulder and saw that Baekhyun had mostly nodded off, he could tell that the human was awake, on the brink of nodding off, he could tell that the couple were getting tired too.

He lightly nudged Baekhyun and heard him hum softly, “You should probably go to bed so you don’t get a sore back from the couch,” Chanyeol murmured.  He felt Baekhyun slowly pull himself up and Chanyeol waited until he didn’t think that Baekhyun would fall over if he moved, he hauled Baekhyun up easily, nearly up into his arms, but he hastily steadied the shorter.

Minseok was poking Jongdae in the cheek, murmuring for him to get up and come to bed, he sighed when the younger whined and flopped onto Minseok’s lap, trapping the older man to the couch, he gave Chanyeol a pleading stare.

The vampire chuckled softly, promising that he’d be back shortly, he was guiding Baekhyun back to bed and saw him flop onto his bed, on top of the covers and sighed happily, nuzzling his face into his pillows.  Chanyeol easily got him under the covers and tucked him, his lips brushed Baekhyun’s cheek before he tell himself to stop, he quickly left after turning the light off and went to the living room, where Minseok was still trapped on the couch.

Jongdae weighed practically nothing due to Chanyeol’s enhanced strength and once Minseok was free, he gave Jongdae to Minseok, who let out a soft _oomph_.

Chanyeol watched him struggle a bit towards the bedroom, and saw from Jongdae’s smirk from over Minseok’s shoulder that he was enjoying being carried and pampered, he waved goodbye when Jongdae waved at him first.  He heard Jongdae get tossed and his soft grunt of displeasure and then he heard Minseok shuffling back towards him, “Throw out your back?” he teased.

Minseok huffed at him, “You artists must be fed like track horses,” he grumbled, rotating his shoulder.  “I’ll walk you out since Baekhyun can’t do it,” he rolled his eyes.  “He’s more like a baby than anything when it comes to bedtime.”

“That much hasn’t changed,” Chanyeol agreed, he slipped on his shoes.  “You don’t have to walk me to my car, it’s cold out and I can hear Jongdae’s whining for you from here,” he chuckled.

“I’d say that you have good ears, but he’s not quiet about being a brat,” Minseok sighed.  He followed Chanyeol to the door, “Thank you for coming over today, it seemed that it made Baekhyun really happy.  It was also nice meeting you officially,” his smile was contagious.

“It was very nice meeting you and Jongdae as well,” Chanyeol replied, giving the older man a bright grin too.  “I hope to see you all again before I leave,” he added before wishing Minseok a good night.

Minseok told him the same before locking up once he saw Chanyeol turn the corner down the hall.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when Baekhyun was standing barely two feet from him, “Jesus, Baekhyun!” he shrilled, voice two pitches higher than normal.

Baekhyun startled from the shout, “Sorry,” his voice shook too.  “I…I wanted to tell Chanyeol goodbye, but he’s already gone,” he frowned.

“You’ll see him again, won’t you?” Minseok asked him curiously.

“I mean, I have too, because we never finished the work that I asked him to come over for,” Baekhyun explained to him, putting down a logical reason for them to meet again and he saw the way Minseok’s lips pursed.  “What?” he demanded.

Minseok lightly slapped Baekhyun’s shoulder, “Don’t speak to your elders like that,” he chided and saw Baekhyun’s cheeks redden.  He took Baekhyun’s hands between his own and squeezed lightly, “Hyunnie, you don’t have to make a work excuse to see Chanyeol, he was very happy to be here tonight and you were happy to see him.  It’s _okay_ to like him.”

“I can’t have these types of conversations when it’s this late,” Baekhyun went to tug his hands free, but Minseok held firm and he saw the disapproving look Minseok was giving him when Baekhyun was starting to close up.  “I’ll…I’ll think about it, Hyung,” he whispered, ducking his head.

Minseok was mostly appeased when that and let go of Baekhyun to move forward to rustle Baekhyun’s hair, who whined at him to stop, “Thank you, now go to bed, you’re much brattier than Jongdae when you haven’t had your beauty sleep.”

Baekhyun told him goodnight before going back to bed, he curled up on his side and stared at his bedroom wall after making himself into a blanket burrito; he wasn’t anywhere near the idea of sleep anymore when he considered the pros and cons of having a relationship of any kind with Chanyeol again.

His list of pros somehow outweighed the cons, even when Baekhyun tried to be negative as possible, especially with the ones where Chanyeol was a musical artist and that his schedule was chaotic and that he may not even move back to Korea, but something warm budded in his chest: hope.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 is v short, so I'm posting chapter 10 too!!

Thanksgiving came and went, Chanyeol spent it with his family, he thought it would be a little too soon and awkward to have Baekhyun with him, as some of his family had been a little bitter with Baekhyun for breaking up with him, even it had been six years ago; his family held weird grudges sometimes.

He did text Baekhyun on-and-off through it, sending him pictures of small relatives who shot up like weeds, to keep him entertained, even though had Baekhyun spent his holiday with Minseok and Jongdae’s families, the couple were more than official, their families knew it, Baekhyun _clearly_ knew it, it was just both sides anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop when they could call each partner a son-in-law or some other sort of in-law to them; Baekhyun didn’t really care, he thought his two friends were practically married already, even without the rings and certification.

Chanyeol did enjoy those texts from Baekhyun, telling him how exhausted he was because each family member from both sides were trying to be discreet and trying to weasel any information out of him, bribing him with sweet cakes that he happily ate before telling them he didn’t even think there was going to be a wedding.

Finally, Baekhyun Facetimed him, sneaking out back and sat on Minseok’s old childhood swing under a tree in his backyard.  He put his earbuds in and listened to Chanyeol talk, feeling his shoulders relax at the soothing lull of his voice, “That’s nice,” he murmured absentmindedly when Chanyeol had excitedly gone on about his second cousin’s having her first baby.

“Yea, I’m at least not being a sweets thief,” Chanyeol teased him, he had hidden himself upstairs in his grandparent’s study to talk to Baekhyun.  “Their families will now know you as Minseok and Jongdae’s spoilt son.”

Baekhyun shrugged, “I’m not going to argue with what’s right.”

Chanyeol could tell that Baekhyun was upset about something, as his responses were clipped, “Hey,” he murmured, “talk to me, what’s wrong?”

Baekhyun kicked his feet into the dirt to sway in the swing, he shrugged a little, “Just makes me miss my family,” he murmured.  He didn’t have a big family to start with, his dad had been an orphan, his mom was an only child, and her mom had passed away, his brother fucked off to god knows where, his dad was probably drinking alone in that shitty apartment, but Baekhyun couldn’t be bothered to go visit.

Chanyeol frowned, he couldn’t even see Baekhyun as the shorter had stuck his phone in his coat pocket, so all he could hear was the sadness in Baekhyun’s voice.  He put his phone down on his stomach and slumped in the cushiony therapy chair and stared up at the ceiling, he drummed his fingers anxiously on his chest, “Baekhyun?”

“Yea?”

“We could…I mean, would it bother you if—”

“We can go visit her,” Baekhyun cut off Chanyeol’s stammering, already knowing what Chanyeol was going to ask. His heart was doing small flips in his chest and his throat felt tight and he cleared his throat a couple times, “I’m sure she’d like that…and I’m sure she misses you.”

Chanyeol wanted to cry when he heard the small hitch in Baekhyun’s breath, “Okay,” he whispered.  “Thank you…I just didn’t want to pressure you into anything.”

“You didn’t and you never could,” Baekhyun answered after a moment of calming himself down.  His eyes were hot and his nose felt a little runny and he really just wanted to curl up in bed right now, but listening to Chanyeol talk made him feel somewhat better, “Hey,” he interrupted Chanyeol’s rambles to keep him distracted.  He swallowed nervously, “I’m not asking this to sound like a douche bag requestor, but…could you sing to me?”

The warmth flooded Chanyeol as did nostalgia; he always sang and held Baekhyun when the shorter was feeling sad about something, he remembered that Baekhyun said that his voice was soothing and made him feel at peace.

So, Chanyeol sang softly, just for Baekhyun.

~~~

“Baek, there you are,” Minseok said in an exasperated tone, he had just so happened to peek out the tiny back window at the back of the house that overviewed the backyard and he saw Baekhyun sitting on the old swing he hadn’t touched since he had been a kid.

He shivered as a brisk wind brushed against him as he walked down the stone path to the tall, old tree and saw that Baekhyun had his head resting against the old, rusted chain, hands in his lap, his eyes were closed, and his earbuds were in.  Minseok felt a little uneasy to see Baekhyun so still and he saw that Baekhyun’s cheeks and nose were red, his lips looked pale, and he quickly grabbed Baekhyun by the shoulders.

Baekhyun slowly opened his eyes, he saw Minseok looking worriedly at him, “Chanyeol, I have to go, Minseok is here,” he said and grabbed his phone from his pocket, he glanced at the screen and recognized the ceiling of Chanyeol’s grandparent’s house.

Chanyeol picked up his phone and saw Baekhyun’s reddened face, “Jesus, were you outside the whole time?!”

“Yea,” Baekhyun shrugged, he looked at Chanyeol, thinking how handsome he looked with his hair swept and styled off to the side, the crimson color looked good on him, his face was flawless, he didn’t have color in his cheeks, which Baekhyun thought was odd, but didn’t comment, he looked into those deep, dark eyes that seemed darker than usual, but he could stare into them all day, the worry reflected there as well.  “I’m fine,” he said and stood up, grimacing a little as his legs and bottom had gone numb from being so still.

Minseok peered at Baekhyun’s phone and smiled tiredly, waving at Chanyeol, “Hi, Chanyeol, happy holidays, I’m glad to see that you’re smart and stayed inside,” his tone turned to scolding one as he looked at Baekhyun and pinched his cheek.

“Can’t even feel it,” Baekhyun snarked to Minseok and sighed when Minseok pulled him close to his side, almost tucking him inside his jacket; he was starting to mother hen him. 

“Tell him I said hi, stay inside for the rest of the weekend, Baek,” Chanyeol stated.  “I don’t want you getting sick.”

“I’ll be fine,” Baekhyun groaned as he was guided up the path and to the backdoor, which was now open and he saw Jongdae at the bottom of the wooden stairs, frowning worriedly.

“Okay, well, just text me when you want to go visit her, all right?” Chanyeol prompted him.  He saw Baekhyun nod, “Take care, I’ll see you later,” he promised and disconnected the videocall.

He let out a heavy sigh, he didn’t like how reckless Baekhyun was acting with his health, but given what he had been told, it was clear that Baekhyun was still suffering and in a deep pit of depression.  Chanyeol sat up ad patted his hair down in the back and fixed his sweater, as he primped himself, he planned on making a light post-Thanksgiving dinner for Baekhyun for when they went out and would make sure to bring a couple thick blankets for him if they ate while they visited with Baekhyun’s mother.

With that plan made, Chanyeol went back downstairs and apologized for sneaking away, he was just met with happy smiles, hugs, and grouped into conversation with some of his relatives, he had Ki-Tae in his lap the moment he sat down and Chanyeol hugged him and smiled up to his sister, who just petted through his hair, while they listened to their uncle prattle on about his quail hunts.

As he looked around himself, Chanyeol knew that there was one important person missing and it wasn’t his father, as that man made his choice, no, this person was Baekhyun and Chanyeol told himself that even if Baekhyun only wanted to have a platonic relationship, Chanyeol would still get him to come to his family’s holiday gatherings, it was where Baekhyun belonged, he was still part of Chanyeol’s family.

He’d try his hardest to remind Baekhyun that every day, so the human wouldn’t feel so lonely, Chanyeol would remind him how much he was adored and even loved still, he would keep the relatives that were still unhappy away from Baekhyun of course, because they didn’t know what Baekhyun had gone through and Chanyeol knew they didn’t deserve an explanation if they were holding grudges for Chanyeol that he never even held in the first place.

He would make sure that Baekhyun knew he still had a family.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra post bc chapter 9 was so short!! 
> 
> WARNING!!! Family death

   

Chanyeol got a text from Baekhyun on Monday, the graphic artist’s office was still closed because Suho was a giant giver and made sure that his employee’s had additional time for family or just for a holiday rest.

It was around two in the afternoon when Chanyeol got to Baekhyun’s apartment, he had their food and blankets and flowers packed in the back, he had visited the flower shop that had Hee-Chul’s business under it, the shop owner was happy to see him again and helped him pick the most beautiful flowers for Baekhyun and his mother.

He didn’t have to wait long, he watched Baekhyun pass through the gate and he was pleased to see that Baekhyun had a thick scarf and a beanie on, he just assumed that Minseok or Jongdae had made Baekhyun bundle up.

Chanyeol circled over to the passenger side and opened the door for Baekhyun, who gave him a funny look, before sliding inside and Chanyeol waited until Baekhyun had settled in before closing the door and went back to the driver’s side and climbed back in.

Baekhyun peered behind him when he smelled roast, “Did you bring food, too?”

“Yea, I figured we could have a late Thanksgiving with her, if you wanted,” Chanyeol murmured shyly, he felt nervous that he was toeing a line that shouldn’t be crossed, but he saw Baekhyun nod before tucking his face up to his nose in his scarf, Chanyeol could taste the light mist of tears and he hesitantly offered his hand that Baekhyun had snatched between his own.

“Your fingers are cold,” Baekhyun commented, voice muffled from the scarf.

“Poor circulation,” Chanyeol replied and heard Baekhyun huff quietly.  “What?” he mused and saw Baekhyun squint at him.

“You said that last time too,” Baekhyun told him.

“Well, I did live in Canada briefly, maybe my body is just stuck in the cold,” Chanyeol shrugged at him.  He watched Baekhyun take out his phone and input the cemetery’s address and set it in the phone stand so Chanyeol could look at the directions.

Baekhyun took Chanyeol’s hand between his own again, “How was living in Canada?  You didn’t go into specifics when you were over.”

“It was cold, I stayed in Vancouver with Kris and Tao for a while and had a records label with Kris for California and Canada,” Chanyeol informed him.

“What are they like?” Baekhyun asked him curiously; he never really bothered to look up producers, unless they were super shady, but he did know that Kris made his own music too on occasion and Baekhyun listened to his stuff.

“They’re just like my umma,” Chanyeol groaned.  “I’m not kidding, I get at least two checkup emails and texts from them every morning and evening.”

“You’re their little star,” Baekhyun shrugged and he felt Chanyeol’s hand stiffen in his hold.  He stared at the window, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Chanyeol mumbled; his bond with Kris and Tao ran deeper than that and it stung his feelings because Baekhyun was making assumptions without knowing them personally. 

The human felt bad for making it awkward, as the only thing breaking the silence was the radio playing softly and the sound of Chanyeol’s turn signal when he was turning off onto another road.  “Would they let you come back to Korea?” Baekhyun asked him when they were approaching the cemetery gates.  He felt like he was going to start freaking out, he hadn’t been to his mother’s grave since he nearly took his own life.

“They’re good people, they aren’t jaded like the rest,” Chanyeol replied, he could feel the clamminess of Baekhyun’s skin, could heart the beat of his heart getting faster, his breath coming and going less smoothly.  He pulled off to the side and put his car in park, “Baekhyun,” he called firmly and he saw the panic in Baekhyun’s eyes, he cupped Baekhyun’s face between his hands, feeling him shiver, but he knew the cold was welcome due to the warmth that making Baekhyun sweat.  “Everything is going to be fine, if you don’t want to go, we can leave.”

“But we’re already here,” Baekhyun shakily exhaled, his nails dug into the palms of his hands and he tried to ground himself.

Chanyeol was shaking his head, “If you’re uncomfortable, we don’t have to go, she would understand.”

Baekhyun’s bottom lip wobbled before tears sprung into his eyes, “I don’t want her to think that I’m leaving her,” he sobbed.  “She’s all alone here, dad never visits her, not even when she was being buried, Baekbeom and I were the only two there and some of her friends, but  _I_  was the only one to visit her up until—”

“Hey, hey,” Chanyeol soothed, hushing him softly when Baekhyun broke off into hysterics.  He unclipped Baekhyun’s seatbelt and his own before pushing the divider up and felt Baekhyun move closer to him, Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, whispering softly to him that his mother wouldn’t be upset if they left, she’d understand, and that Baekhyun’s health came first, and that she would even be telling Baekhyun to not work himself up until he got sick.

Baekhyun cried until his throat was raw and all he could do was pathetically sniffle, his nose burned and his eyes hurt too, he felt an incoming headache, but Chanyeol still held him, one hand running soothingly up and down his coat covered back as the other hand had slipped under his scarf and cupped the back of his neck, thumb running soothingly back and forth.

They stayed like that for a while, but Chanyeol didn’t mind, he held Baekhyun close and let him cry into his coat until Baekhyun was just shaking and sniffling.  He tucked his face against the beanie Baekhyun wore, he heard and felt Baekhyun let out a shuddery breath, “Let me get you a tissue,” he murmured; he came prepared and felt Baekhyun let go of him, he saw him rub at his eyes, Chanyeol reached for the glovebox and pulled out the travel size pack of tissues and opened them for the shorter.

Baekhyun thanked him, voice a little raspy and wiped at his face; his head was pounding and he rubbed tiredly at his temples, he caught his reflection and groaned, “I look awful.”

“You’re grieving your mother, I’d be offended if you looked good,” Chanyeol tried to joke and all he got was a weak chuckle.  He let Baekhyun collect himself and kept his distance, he didn’t want to make Baekhyun uncomfortable and waited patiently until Baekhyun murmured that he was okay and then he was getting out of the car to collect the basket and flowers.

Baekhyun stuffed his hands into his pockets after Chanyeol rejected his offer to help him carry something, he slowly led the way to his mother’s gravesite, the grass that had been lifted was still discolored from the rest of the ground, even after four years and it made his heart hurt, because the grave still looked fresh.

Chanyeol saw the simple gravestone that had Baekhyun’s mother’s name on it, her date of birth and date of death; her fifth year of passing would be next year in June and Chanyeol knew he’d be crying had he not been a vampire, he had a delusional thought of him being turned earlier and meeting her again, seeing what was wrong and then curing her, then Baekhyun wouldn’t be so depressed, maybe he would have become a top-star actor, maybe singing duets with Chanyeol on occasion.

But that’s not what happened, Chanyeol was standing next to his ex-boyfriend, who tried to take his own life, and was now staring down his mother’s gravestone a couple days after Thanksgiving, not even with his family, who had also fallen to pieces.

Baekhyun let out a shuddery breath and turned towards Chanyeol, “Did you bring a blanket?” he asked.

Chanyeol jumped to action, setting the wicker basket down and unfolded a thick blanket for them to sit down on, which he carefully spread out before passing a woolen poncho over to Baekhyun, “You need to wear it, so you don’t get cold,” he said and then pulled up the hood once Baekhyun drew it onto himself.

Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol was going to be cold in just a hoodie, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue, he sat down on the blanket and held the canaster of warm tea between his hands to warm them up and watched Chanyeol pull out a couple boxes of food that was mostly ham, turkey, stuffing, cranberries, rice, and strawberry cakes for Baekhyun.

Chanyeol carefully pulled the pink tissue paper back from the first bouquet of flowers and sat them in the stone vase that was next to the headstone, “Mother-in-law, I wish I could have called you that at least once when you were still with us, but I will say it now.  I’m sorry that I did not know that you were suffering and had fallen ill, I’m sorry that I was not here to take care of your Baekhyun, but I am here now and I will take proper care of him, no matter how fussy he gets, because he’s your son and you always said he deserved great things, I hope to be one of those.”

Baekhyun’s cheeks flared and his mouth ran dry, Chanyeol kept his eyes lowered when he had been talking and putting the colorful roses into the case; he hadn’t known that Chanyeol wanted to marry him.  He bowed his head, biting at his bottom lip harshly to stop the new tears, because he knew he would have said yes if Chanyeol proposed, he wasn’t so miserable that he’d delude himself that he’d disagree.

Chanyeol lit a candle, “I was a fool to let him go without a fight the first time, but I had been young and naïve at the time, I still am a fool, but I like to think that I’ve learned from my previous mistakes, I promise to take care of him, you won’t have to worry from your cloud in Heaven, but I still hope that you will watch over him for me when I’m not there next to him somedays.”

Baekhyun didn’t even bother to stop his tears, even though he thought he had cried himself out, he buried his face into his sleeves and wept; he  _still_ loved Chanyeol.  He listened to Chanyeol continue to speak softly, telling his mother about what life was like and about his own mother and Baekhyun just silently watched him with bloodshot eyes.

“My mother misses you too,” Chanyeol murmured, fingers resting on the platform, “she told me so, she never knew how sick you got, but she is glad that you’re not suffering anymore and that you’re now surrounded with all your favorite flowers and at peace.”

Baekhyun wiped at his cheeks, “Your mom visited sometimes, I saw her a few times when I was too upset to come here by myself, I would see her from the gates,” he said quietly.  “She always left sunflowers, but the birds would always take them away…”

“She only knew of her passing when she read the newspaper the next day,” Chanyeol said, “I imagine she felt upset missing her funeral, but I’m happy that she hopefully had closure visiting here.”

Baekhyun nodded timidly, “The hospital my mother stayed up was strictly for family visitation only…so your mother wouldn’t have been able to see her.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself,” Chanyeol comforted him.  He gestured for Baekhyun to eat, “You better eat before it turns to ice,” he gestured to the boxed meat and rice.

Baekhyun didn’t have much of appetite, but he nibbled on some ham and rice and sipped at the tea that Chanyeol had brought.  He moved to sit closer to Chanyeol and felt Chanyeol wrap an arm around his waist and settled against him, head leaning on Chanyeol’s shoulder as he watched the flame of the candle Chanyeol lit dance.

His eyes closed; he was at peace for once, the hurt in his chest had loosened, some still remained, but he hadn’t been able to breathe this easily in years it felt like, like the hard stone that was consistently pressed onto his chest had rolled away and he breathed easy.

~~~

A couple hours passed, Chanyeol thought it was time to moveout, as the candle had blown out because it was getting windy and the sun was getting low.  He packed everything up quickly and Baekhyun carried the other bouquet of flowers that Chanyeol had gifted him.

Baekhyun carefully sat the flowers on the basket that was on the floor and climbed into the passenger seat and pulled on his safety belt before looking out the passenger window, he still took Chanyeol’s hand and placed it between his own and toyed with his fingers lightly.

The drive again was silent, but Chanyeol didn’t mind, he pulled into the parking lot this time when they reached the apartment complex, because he wanted to talk to Baekhyun, he had just opened his mouth when Baekhyun had launched himself at Chanyeol.

The vampire startled when he had a lapful of Baekhyun, he felt warm lips press against his own and Chanyeol’s eyes widened, he turned his face away, “Baek—”

“I want this,” Baekhyun cut him off, determination was in his eyes, he looped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and he saw the conflict on Chanyeol’s face, “do you?”

“I…” Chanyeol trailed off and licked his lips nervously, he saw Baekhyun’s eyes follow the movement, “we shouldn’t do this, not now, you’re upset and grieving, Baekhyun.”

“Grief sex is good sex,” Baekhyun told him and heard Chanyeol splutter.  He kissed Chanyeol again, feeling those strong hands grip at his waist and he shivered, “ _Please_ ,” he breathed.

Chanyeol groaned at that before rolling Baekhyun onto his back against the middle seat and passenger seat and wedged himself between Baekhyun’s legs; he was so fucking grateful that his windows were practically blacked out. 

Baekhyun struggled out of the poncho and then Chanyeol helped shed his coat, scarf, and beanie, he was pushing impatiently at Chanyeol’s hoodie and he felt his mouth dry up when Chanyeol hauled the hoodie over his head and tossed it in the backseat; Baekhyun’s fingers traced the thick muscle of Chanyeol’s forearms, he bit at his bottom lip, eyes drinking the exposed collarbones, broad shoulders, “ _Fuck_ ,” he choked out when Chanyeol crowded into his space, Chanyeol was much more leaner, bigger, thicker, he had to spread his legs further apart to fit him between his thighs.

The vampire took in a shaky breath, he felt his fangs almost drop at the intoxicating smell of Baekhyun that was more pungent from his arousal, he could feel how much warmer Baekhyun had become and he pressed his chilled hands under Baekhyun’s back, feeling the shorter shiver, “You’re still so beautiful,” Chanyeol murmured, he skated his hands down, fingers digging into the denim of his most favorite part of Baekhyun other than his soft hands that were currently pushing Chanyeol’s shirt up.

Baekhyun sighed happily when Chanyeol loomed over him, he stopped trying to push Chanyeol’s shirt up and instead, smoothed his hands across Chanyeol’s chilled skin and the moved his hands to curl his fingers into Chanyeol’s thick hair and pulled him into a kiss.  He moaned softly as he felt Chanyeol rock against him slowly, he as now bringing the leg that had been trapped between the seats and the taller, and looping his leg over Chanyeol’s waist and he lowered his other leg and braced his foot closer to the floor, but still on the driver’s side door to get the complete friction that he wanted.

“You taste good,” Chanyeol murmured after lapping softly into Baekhyun’s mouth; reality became a little fuzzy to him, as he felt like he was getting drunk off the human by just kissing him and tasting his skin and tongue, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually feed from Baekhyun.  He squeezed Baekhyun’s hips again, feeling the shorter writhe under him, he felt Baekhyun grind back up against him sharply, he moaned softly into Baekhyun’s neck when Baekhyun tugged at his hair, gasping Chanyeol’s name as they grinded against each other.

“Touch me,” Baekhyun pleaded and a shot of pleasure raced up his spine when he felt one of Chanyeol’s hands rub down his chest slowly, fingers teasing the soft, sensitive skin of his lower belly that was exposed from them rutting against each other; he whimpered at that.  He jerked a little when Chanyeol quickly and forcefully undid the button with one hand and Baekhyun pressed up against Chanyeol when he felt those long, thick fingers teasingly run over the front of his jeans, “ _Chanyeol,_ ” he whined.

Chanyeol smirked briefly into Baekhyun’s neck, licking a long stripe there, he felt his venom pooling into his fangs that desperately wanted to drop.  He resisted the urge and pulled himself back, listening to Baekhyun whine unhappily, “Shh,” Chanyeol hushed him and pulled Baekhyun to him easily, “I’m just going to rotate us a little so I can get you off,” he explained, he put himself behind Baekhyun and propped himself up against the passenger door and then pulled Baekhyun to his chest, he told Baekhyun to put one leg over his and when the shorter did that, Chanyeol pushed his own leg up and heard Baekhyun hiss softly, as the shorter was now properly exposed and Chanyeol kissed his neck, “Better?”

Baekhyun shakily nodded, fingers digging into his thigh that was overlapping Chanyeol’s, his other hand was gripping the side of the divider that had been pushed up to give them the full bench of space.  He felt a little dizzy at the blood rush and tilted his head to the side to expose more of his neck when Chanyeol seemed a little too invested with that particular area, but he didn’t mind, his eyes were half lidded as Chanyeol nibbled, licked, and sucked there, as his hand ghosted back down his chest slid into his jeans and under his boxers.  He sucked in a sharp breath when Chanyeol’s hand wrapped around him, his toes curled in his boots and he keened high in the back of his throat, he could already feel his bangs clinging to his forehead, “ _Yeol_ ,” he whined when Chanyeol was just lightly stroking him in a teasing manner.

Chanyeol had his face tucked into Baekhyun’s neck, he finally gripped harder, hearing Baekhyun suck in sharp breath and twisted his wrist and pumped him much quicker; Baekhyun breathless gasps and soft whines of his name was music to Chanyeol’s ears.  He swallowed uneasily when the veins just under his lips were pumping blood much faster, the heat of his skin nearly became scorching, and Chanyeol almost let his control slip, but Baekhyun had jerked in his hold, the human almost sobbing Chanyeol’s name as he came.

Baekhyun snatched Chanyeol’s forearm with both hands to stop the taller from overstimulating him as his legs were already shaking and he felt like he had run a marathon; he hadn’t felt that good in a long time, as mostly, he never dated again after breaking up with Chanyeol and there was only so much you could do by yourself.

The rush was almost too much for Chanyeol to handle, the sharp thudding of Baekhyun’s heart was all he could hear and all he could smell was him and sex; he felt like the scene out of  _Titanic_ as his windows were fogged up.  He could feel Baekhyun cooling off against him and he had long ago snatched his hoodie; the sleeve had caught onto the seat and he dragged it over to wipe his hand off he had to do laundry anyway.

Baekhyun quickly sat up he looked back at Chanyeol, “I didn’t even get you off,” he turned around after getting his pants zipped and button back up and ignored Chanyeol’s nervous spluttering and moved to undo Chanyeol’s jeans; his right eyebrow rose when he didn’t even feel Chanyeol’s arousal, “Did you even…” he trailed off awkwardly, he hadn’t even felt Chanyeol’s dick against him when the taller man was getting him off.

Chanyeol shifted nervously, “It’s a medical condition…?”

“Is it?  Because you certainly got aroused seeing me in your clothes,” Baekhyun accused him, frowning.  “Was it even me that you saw in your clothes, or do you have someone else?  What the  _fuck_  was I even thinking!” he shrilled backing away from Chanyeol; he hadn’t even thought to ask if Chanyeol was seeing someone.

“I’m not dating anyone, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol exclaimed, stopping Baekhyun from trying to climb out the driver’s side.  He had Baekhyun pressed up against the driver’s seat, “If I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have touched you at all.”

Baekhyun still looked upset, “So…why then?”

“It’s complicated,” Chanyeol sigh and he saw Baekhyun glare up at him.  He shifted to a similar position they were in earlier, but this time he had his arms around Baekhyun’s waist and squeezed him close.  “I’m not lying when I say it’s complicated, I want to tell you, but I don’t know how you’d react.”

Baekhyun had to tilt his head to the side to look at him and he saw that Chanyeol was giving their boots a grim stare, “You told me that you weren’t chronically sick…are you actually okay?”

“It’s not an illness,” Chanyeol shook his head and look at Baekhyun.  “Would you trust me if I took you somewhere?”

That made an uneasy feeling settle in Baekhyun’s gut, “R-right now?” he stammered.  It was almost seven and he had yet to check in with Minseok and Jongdae, the last thing he wanted was for them to get worried, but they probably were, since it was how they always were.

“I mean, you have work tomorrow right?  I can you show you this weekend,” Chanyeol shrugged.  “It’s…sort of a big deal to me, so I should probably think about it first.”

Baekhyun saw how actually nervous Chanyeol was, “I don’t work tomorrow, I go back Wednesday, and if you don’t want to tell me or show me, you don’t actually have to do it,” he reassured him, taking Chanyeol’s hands between his own.

“I’ll let you know tomorrow then,” Chanyeol told him.

Baekhyun laughed nervously as he pulled away from him, “You’re not like…a murderer now, are you?”

The vampire could smell the genuine fear from Baekhyun and he gave him a hurt look, “Do I act like one?”

“That’s a creepy question to ask,” Baekhyun replied, giving Chanyeol a critical stare.

Chanyeol huffed at him, “I’m not a murderer, thank you for asking and assuming the worst of me.”

“Well I don’t know!  There are all sorts of crazy people out there and celebrities could be into killing people too!” Baekhyun defended himself.

“I mean, you’re not wrong…” Chanyeol mumbled; he may be on the list of potential killers because of his status as an immortal blood sucker, but he didn’t think that he could actually ever take someone’s life.  He could sense Baekhyun starting to calm down and he gave him a teasing grin, “I can’t believe you thought that I became some sort of crook over the last six years.”

“I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge, because I personally make sure your albums and photo booklets are in prime condition, so I would have been the first to see that something was off,” Baekhyun mused.

That made Chanyeol frown a little; six years of staring at his face, no wonder Baekhyun had been bitter to see him, “I’m sorry about that, I had no idea that you were the main person to work on my visual art.”

“Sehun helps too,” Baekhyun shrugged, “and it’s not so bad…I mean, at least I know that you’re doing well and that’s all I wanted for you.”

“You were my boyfriend, not my guardian,” Chanyeol softly reminded him; he didn’t want to fight with him and he could tell that Baekhyun didn’t want to start a fuss either.

Baekhyun looked away and stared outside, “You’re right and I shouldn’t have made that decision, but I don’t regret it, because you have your dream in your hands and you’re doing so wonderful, seeing your new content helps me.”

“Does it?” Chanyeol asked him doubtfully. 

“Yes, because I didn’t know how you were doing truly up until just a couple years ago; my incident happened before your artist name started to hit the top ten charts, so don’t think for a second that you’re too to blame for not trying to contact me when I didn’t even want to be found in the first place,” Baekhyun ranted to him.  “Clearly, fate wanted us to meet when I became semi-normal again.”

“Baekhyun, you’re not broken, you’re  _depressed_ ,” Chanyeol emphasized, leaving the suicidal part out; it still hurt to think that his Byun Baekhyun, the light of his goddamn life, tried something like that.  He pulled Baekhyun to his chest again, “You went through something traumatic all by yourself and it fucked you up, your moods and reactions are justified.”

Baekhyun tucked his head under Chanyeol’s chin, “It certainly felt like something had broken in me…” he said quietly.  He felt Chanyeol squeeze him briefly and closed his eyes, “But I feel better to have someone with me, who remembers me before everything went wrong, it helps me think that I can go back to that one day.  It’s a reminder that I wasn’t a complete fuck up and that I lived every moment to my fullest, a reminder that I loved singing and can do it again when my lungs don’t feel so empty, a reminder that everything was okay and that it will be, someday.”

“You’re not a fuck up, you never were, you can get back to your happier moods, maybe not completely, but something close to it, where it doesn’t feel so painful to be alive, and I…I want to be there with you, along with Minseok and Jongdae to watch you bloom again,” Chanyeol’s voice got softer towards the end.

“That might be a while,” Baekhyun warned him.

“Time won’t bother me,” Chanyeol promised, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun’s hair.

Baekhyun sighed in relief, “If you think that you can handle me that long…”

“Baekhyun, if I can handle your fits during when you lost rounds in video games, I can handle you during anything,” Chanyeol teased and felt Baekhyun pinch his arm and he chuckled happily, tucking his face into Baekhyun’s neck.

“Okay,” Baekhyun said ever so quietly that it was almost inaudible.  He could feel Chanyeol’s cool breaths against his neck and combed his fingers through Chanyeol’s crimson hair, “First thing about handling me: what is this?”

Chanyeol didn’t have to guess that Baekhyun had gestured between them, “It’s whatever you need right now, but for me personally, I want to build our relationship again.”

“We built something,” Baekhyun sarcastically muttered.  “You touched my dick.”

“And you tried to touch mine, so we’re doing something right, I think,” Chanyeol laughed and saw Baekhyun’s cheeks turn red.  He bravely kissed Baekhyun’s cheek and grinned when Baekhyun blushed harder, “But if I’m overstepping my boundaries, tell me.”

“You’re not doing anything right now that upsets me,” Baekhyun promised.  He leaned back against Chanyeol and sat in silence for a while, he was content like this, with Chanyeol’s arms around him, if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that they were back in his old childhood home.

“I should probably take you inside soon,” Chanyeol murmured in his ear.  It was after seven now, he wasn’t for sure if Baekhyun had text his roommates that he was going to be home late, because Chanyeol hadn’t text them today and he certainly didn’t want to get on their bad side.

“Mmkay,” Baekhyun sleepily murmured, he had nearly dozed off.  He slowly pulled on his coat and forwent putting on his scarf and beanie as he was just heading up some stairs and down a hall to get to his apartment.  He slid out of the jeep, he saw Chanyeol walk around the other side, Baekhyun smiled when Chanyeol gave him his flowers, he buried his face in them and heard Chanyeol laugh.

“Let’s go before they think that I’m a bad influence on you,” Chanyeol mused, nudging Baekhyun forward.

As they walked, Baekhyun just noticed that Chanyeol was only wearing a short-sleeve shirt, “Chanyeol, it’s freezing out here!  No wonder your dick is broken because you never wear any damn clothes!”

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol hissed at him, slapping a hand over his mouth and heard Baekhyun’s muffled giggles.  He marched them both towards the door and knocked with his free hand, Minseok looked fairly surprised, “He’s your problem now.”

Minseok heard Baekhyun giggle as the younger was playfully shoved into his arms, “I was wondering why you looked threatening in the peephole,” he mused.  He let Chanyeol in, “Did everything go all right?”

Baekhyun nodded to him, heading to the kitchen to get a vase for his flowers, he vanished around the corner before Minseok could continue to interrogate him.

Minseok turned to Chanyeol and thanked him, a gentle smile on his face, “I don’t think I’ve seen him so...smiley for once.  I mean, he’s happy with Jongdae and me, but it’s just nice to know that other people care.”

“Of course I care,” Chanyeol replied.  He lowered his voice, “He was a little shook up, but it was a good dinner…I at least hope it was.  He didn’t talk much while we were there, but it was understandable.”

“Still, thank you for being there for him, it would have felt much too awkward for Jongdae and I to go with him, as we never met his mother, it would have felt like we were intruding,” Minseok explained, looking a little upset at the thought of not being able to completely comfort his friend.

Chanyeol could smell the sadness that Minseok was expressing, “I’m grateful for you guys, too, if you two hadn’t been there, I’d never would have been able to meet Baekhyun again, so don’t feel bad, all right?” he said gently.

Baekhyun reappeared before Minseok could reply, “What are you two gossiping about?” he asked, looking to Chanyeol.

“That is was cold and that I should have brought more blankets,” Chanyeol grinned.  “You were shivering the whole way back there.”

“Among other reasons,” Baekhyun muttered under his breath, he saw Chanyeol’s eyes widen and Minseok looked confused.  He cleared his throat and ducked his head, cheeks turning pink, “Anyway…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Yah, Baekhyun, there you are!” Jongdae shouted, pouncing on the elder and squeezed him tight, mushing their cheeks together.  “I was worried that you were leaving us for Chanyeol!”

Baekhyun grunted as Jongdae squeezed his sides and tried to wriggle free as he was ticklish, “He doesn’t try to hug to me death!

“Well, he should try, because you with my Minnie are good at breaking my stress, I can pinch his cheeks and hug him until he threatens to snap me and then I can pinch and hug you!” Jongdae grinned.

Minseok gave Baekhyun a flat look, “He’s reached his limit of hugs and affection for today.”

“ _Wae?!_ ” Jongdae whined, “I barely hugged you at all today!” he shrilled.

Baekhyun sighed at the couple started to bicker with him mushed between them; he gave Chanyeol a pleading stare to help him, bottom lip out in a full pout.  He pouted until Chanyeol finally caved and snagged Baekhyun free and Minseok and Jongdae didn’t even notice.

Baekhyun could still feel that Chanyeol was still chilled and tried to rub warmth back to his arms, “You’re dumb for not wearing a jacket.”

“Well, I sort of dirtied that one,” Chanyeol explained lowly and he grinned when Baekhyun lightly slapped his arm.

“So, are we still…going out for whatever that thing was you wanted to show me?” Baekhyun asked him.  “I mean, I can wait too.”

“Yea, I just got to make a call to Kris and ask his opinion on it,” Chanyeol nodded, he felt a little nervous, but he really wanted to show Baekhyun why he acted so differently at times.

Baekhyun seemed a little curious as to why Chanyeol needed his manager’s approval, but he wasn’t going to question it.  He nodded at that, accepting the answer, he suddenly noticed the silence and he turned around and saw Minseok and Jongdae giving him matching grins and he scowled at them.

Chanyeol noticed too and he took a small step back, he felt Baekhyun’s fingers squeeze slightly before releasing him, “I’ll text you the plans, cool?”

“Yea,” Baekhyun nodded.

“Aww, are you leaving all ready?” Jongdae questioned Chanyeol. 

“Yes, sorry,” Chanyeol apologized to them.  “I don’t want my mother and sister to think that I’m ignoring them and Ki-Tae is going to be there too, he’s my little nephew.”

Baekhyun smiled, “I bet he has grown so much,” he said in awe.  He and Chanyeol still had been dating at the time Yoora had been pregnant, she had been near to her final trimester, but he hadn’t seen any pictures, as he never was on social media.

“Very, I’ll have to take you to see him sometime,” Chanyeol suggested and saw Baekhyun nod happily.  He said farewell again and let Baekhyun walk him to the stairs, as Chanyeol didn’t want him to get cold walking him back to the jeep.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Baekhyun asked him; he felt like a shy teenager again, even though this was Chanyeol, it was clear that he had grown up.

“Yes,” Chanyeol mused, listening to Baekhyun’s heart double for a moment and he stepped closer, uncertainty filled him, but left quickly just as it came, because Baekhyun closed the distance between them and Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s waist, the hold familiar and he pulled Baekhyun closer to him , he also remembered the touch of Baekhyun’s arms around his neck to pull him down and he nearly wanted to lift Baekhyun up during their soft farewell kiss, but he refrained from that.

Baekhyun pulled away first, lips feeling tingly; he was undoubtfully blushing and he felt weak-kneed when he saw Chanyeol giving him a tender look, “O-Okay, see you tomorrow, then,” he stammered.

Chanyeol smiled gently, “Yea, have a good night, Baek, keep warm,” he murmured and turned down the stairs; he felt like there was a skip in his step all the way to the jeep.  He could still tell that Baekhyun was outside, looking to him over the railing from the third floor and he turned and waved, chucking when he heard Baekhyun’s quiet gasp and saw him slowly wave back before turning away, “He’s still so cute,” he murmured to himself.

Baekhyun still watched Chanyeol drive away and when he turned to head back down the hall, he briefly saw his roommates peeking their faces outside the doorway before they immediately vanished when Baekhyun saw them; his faced burned and he stalked back inside and he saw the couple trying to act innocent by sitting on the couch and watching TV.

He chose to ignore the fact that they had been watching him and said that he was going to shower and head to bed, they wished them a goodnight; he knew they wouldn’t fuss over him during the night, as they clearly knew what was going on now.

Baekhyun just hoped that he wasn’t diving in this too quickly, as he didn’t know what Chanyeol was going to do when his vacation was up; he was afraid that Chanyeol would decide to stay in the States, or that Chanyeol’s manager wouldn’t agree to it.

He resisted the urge to bang his head on the shower tile and instead sulked under the hot spray and just hoped that he wasn’t getting in over his head, as he wasn’t for sure how much more of this emotional roller-coaster he can stand to ride, as he had already taken the first nosedive down drop and been through all the loopy-loops, now it felt like he was at the top of the track again and was about to face the biggest drop before everything was over.

Baekhyun just hoped that he’d remain suspended over the edge for just a while longer


	11. Chapter 11

** Eleven **

Chanyeol had talked to Kris and Tao before he went to bed that night, he had Facetimed them and told them about how his vacation was coming along, he tiptoed around the topic of Baekhyun, as he didn’t want to give them a reason to dislike Baekhyun, if they didn’t know of his and Baekhyun’s history, which that made a flare of protectiveness overcome him.

“I’m glad that Hee-Chul was able to help you,” Kris said, when Chanyeol told him about the donor den.  “I’ll have to send him a Christmas gift.”

“He said he wants to visit sometime, just not when the weather is bad,” Chanyeol smiled.

Tao said that he liven up the place for Hee-Chul’s visit.

“So, what else is on your mind?” Kris prompted, he didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know that something was amiss from Chanyeol.

Chanyeol bit at his bottom lip nervously, “So, Hee-Chul didn’t tell you?”

“About what?” Kris frowned, worried slightly and he could sense Tao’s unease too.

“I, uh…the reason why I had to feed so early was because I found my Siren,” Chanyeol murmured and he heard Tao’s gasp even if he couldn’t see him.

Kris’ jaw dropped, “You _what_?”

“I mean, I re-found him…?” Chanyeol shakily said.  “When I had been human, he and I had dated, but we broke up when I came to the States.  I saw him for the first time in six years and uh, I thought my control had slipped and when I visited Hee-Chul he told me that Baekhyun is my Siren.”

“That’s incredible,” Kris blinked, tone awed. 

“I want to tell him what I am,” Chanyeol bravely told Kris.  “Our relationship is sort of new again, given the time that has passed between us and he’s been through a lot, he’s not the complete same, but he’s still my Baekhyun.  I don’t want any secrets between us and that means I have to tell him of my immortal status too.”

“Oh, Chanyeol, you sound so mature!” Tao cooed adoringly and put his head on Kris’ shoulder to give him a bright smile.

Kris looked pensive before exhaling softly, “Chanyeol,” he started off softly and he saw the immediate frown on his fledgling’s face, “you don’t know how he would react, I’m not saying that you should keep it a secret forever, but your relationship is so fresh again.”

“But he’s my Siren,” Chanyeol argued, he hadn’t risen his voice; he was just confused.

“Yes, and that is important, it means that even if you don’t tell him now, there will still be time later,” Kris stated calmly.  “I’m not forbidding you from telling him, you can tell him, if that is what you wish, but just keep that in mind.”

“I just thought to mention it because…he keeps questioning why I’m so different, he thinks that I’m sick because my skin is so cold, we…we, uh, did stuff and he thought I wasn’t attracted to him and I lied and just said that it was medical condition, but Hee-Chul explained how to…fix that problem,” Chanyeol had buried his face into his pillow at this point, but he could still hear Tao’s loud laughter and Kris’ spluttering.

There was a long moment where Tao could still be heard laughing in the distance and Chanyeol wished that he hadn’t said anything and he moodily lifted his head slightly to glare over Kris’ shoulder.

“Tao, you’re embarrassing him,” Kris chided his partner.  He could only smile softly at the sulky look Chanyeol was giving them, “Ah, the annoying not nice perks of the immortal life,” he sighed dramatically.

“Yea…I just want tell him what I am, so he doesn’t think I’m a liar,” Chanyeol sighed.  “I’m still me, despite…being undead, meaning I still can’t lie for shit around him, he _knows_ me.  I just don’t want to ruin what we’ve built between each other,” he explained.

“I can understand that,” Kris empathetically replied, gaze cutting over to Tao briefly.  “He’s your Siren, he’s been important to you before that, and you just want to keep his trust.”

Chanyeol nodded at that, “I do…I still have feelings for him and I can tell that he feels the same for me,” he said, and he’d leave the part about him and Baekhyun getting it on in his rental out of the story.  It may have been grief comfort, but Chanyeol could tell that Baekhyun was giving it his all during his touches and kisses, even if they hadn’t gone all the way, but it was enough for Chanyeol to decipher that Baekhyun still wanted him.

“Then tell him, just don’t be surprised if he does freak out,” Kris warned.  “Tao ignored me for a month, he had even moved countries when I showed him what I was, but I swear we’ve been nothing but happier when he accepted it.”

Tao nodded encouragingly, “He might be scared at first, let him have time to himself for a few days and then approach him again.”

Chanyeol was afraid of that too; Baekhyun had only attempted to take his life once, Chanyeol didn’t want to be a reason for the human to try something like that again, if he thought that he was going crazy or became too afraid to face Chanyeol ever again.

Kris said he’d talk to Hee-Chul if Chanyeol could take Baekhyun to the donor den to talk, as it was a safer area for vampires and that Hee-Chul would be there to help if anything went wrong.

He thanked them for their advice and listened to Kris and Tao talk for almost another hour, Chanyeol spoke a little more as well, he felt better, but there was still some lingering worry; he almost didn’t want to take the gamble, because it was one thing to lose Baekhyun because the human didn’t trust him, it was complete other thing if Baekhyun took his life because he thought he was going insane.

They wrapped up their talk and Chanyeol promised to call them when he told Baekhyun the news.  He had ended the videocall first and sighed as he put his phone on his bedside table; he was too conflicted, Chanyeol wanted to tell Baekhyun, but at the same time, he was scared.

He was still uncertain on what to do.

~~~

It was around three in the afternoon the next day when Baekhyun got a text from Chanyeol, saying that he wanted to take him for coffee.  He smiled as he read the message and replied that he was already ready to go and that he could come over anytime he was ready and Chanyeol responded that he was already in the area as he had to run some errands.

Almost ten minutes later, Baekhyun heard his front door being knocked on; he was home alone today and pushed himself away from his work on his monitors and headed to the front door, he smiled upon seeing Chanyeol, who looked just as happy to see him.

“Sorry, my mother called, she was in a tizz because she couldn’t find Toben, but he was just hiding out under the couch,” Chanyeol mused.  He stepped inside when Baekhyun gestured for him to come in, “How was your morning?”

“Good, I slept most of it away,” Baekhyun admitted sheepishly.  He had started to sleep better and he really wondered what type of mental healing his brain was going through if it was Chanyeol related.

“That’s the best type of sleep, so don’t feel bad, you’re a tax paying adult, so you should enjoy your days off,” Chanyeol stated.  He offered a lavender colored paper bag to Baekhyun, who gave it a curious look, “I stopped by a bakery, they had strawberry cakes,” he said.

Baekhyun’s face lit up, “You’re spoiling me!”

Chanyeol shrugged, “You didn’t get to eat dessert the other day…”

“Jongdae totally stole that cake too,” Baekhyun pouted at him.  “I swear I’m going to start putting my name on stuff in the fridge so my rotten roommates keep their paws off my sweets!”

“Or, I can start bringing them stuff too,” Chanyeol suggested and saw Baekhyun immediately shaking his head at him.

“No, I already feel bad about you buying me stuff,” Baekhyun murmured shyly.  He took the pretty bag to the kitchen and grabbed a sharpie and wrote his name on the front and doodled a little angry, puppy face with a note for his friends to keep their dirty paws off his food!  He gingerly put it towards the back of the fridge before coming back to the living room, Chanyeol hadn’t moved from the front door, “Sorry, I just gotta save my work real quick and then I’ll be right out!” he scurried away.

Chanyeol watched him go and heard him tapping away on his keyboard, soft clicks of the mouse, and a bedroom closet door opening and shutting and he saw Baekhyun pulling on his coat and hurrying to pull his boots on.

The vampire grinned, “Baek, you don’t have to rush,” he soothed.  “We’re just gonna get coffee and then I’m going to take you to a shop.”

“A shop?” Baekhyun repeated.  He pulled on his mittens after zipping his coat up and doublechecked that he had his phone, keys, and wallet, before following Chanyeol out the apartment door.

Chanyeol nodded, even though Baekhyun had his back to him to lockup, “Yea, I started going there, I know the owner and her son, Hee-Chul, um, Hee-Chul will be there when I tell you about me.”

Baekhyun gave him a curious look, “Oh, so your manager agreed?”

“Yea,” Chanyeol nodded, he wouldn’t tell him that Kris seemed reluctant at first.  He led the way downstairs and to his jeep, he heard Baekhyun slid into the passenger seat before shutting the door, Chanyeol got into the driver’s side, “He said he had to clean up a little bit first, so I figured you and I could go for coffee.  Have you eaten today?”

“No,” Baekhyun shook his head; he wouldn’t admit that he was hopeful that Chanyeol would take him out for lunch.  He was a little anxious about this Hee-Chul person and his involvement with Chanyeol, he wanted to ask how Chanyeol met Hee-Chul, but he didn’t want to pry.

Chanyeol took them to a coffee shop that he remembered sold sandwich wraps and sweet cakes; he knew Baekhyun would like it and he was proven right by seeing how the shorter lit up once they stepped inside, he watched Baekhyun carefully pick out the sandwich he wanted, along with a piece of cake, he placed his order, and Chanyeol paid before Baekhyun could even get his wallet.

Baekhyun gave him a huffy look, “I can pay for myself.”

“But I’m the one dragging you outside today, so I can treat you,” Chanyeol replied and nudged Baekhyun down the line after ordering tea for himself.  He told Baekhyun to grab them a table and he waited for their order, which took a bit of time, but Chanyeol wasn’t going to judge, they looked a little short-staffed.

He grabbed their drinks and then went the direction Baekhyun went and found him already nibbling on his sandwich, Chanyeol sat his drink in front of him and heard Baekhyun thank him.  He slid into his seat across from Baekhyun and blew lightly on his tea, “You seem apprehensive,” Chanyeol said, he could taste the slight anxiety coming from the other.

Baekhyun carefully sipped his sweet coffee, as not wanting to burn his tongue, he fiddled with the cardboard holder around the cup, “Yea, I just don’t know where we’re going.”

“I promise that it’s nothing shady, you just have to trust me, okay?” Chanyeol asked of him and he could see the bit of hesitation of Baekhyun’s face that it almost made him call it off and that he’d do it another time.

“Okay,” Baekhyun murmured.  He picked a little at his cake, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he saw the change of Chanyeol’s mood.

“No, it’s not you,” Chanyeol shook his head.  He looked down at his tea and saw his dark reflection before looking back at Baekhyun, “This is just important to me and I don’t want to upset you.”

Baekhyun didn’t know what Chanyeol was going on about, he lowkey thought Chanyeol had some creepy shrine of Baekhyun and had some other whack-job helping him, or even worse, Chanyeol was a murderer and wanted to show him where he kept his souvenirs.

“I’m not a murderer,” Chanyeol sighed, he saw Baekhyun’s face pale, “and I’m not a mind reader.  Honestly, you read too much fantasy,” he cringed a bit, because _he_ was supposed to be fantasy.

“So, you’re a wizard and you’re actually going to take me to Hogwarts?” Baekhyun asked him hopefully.

“If only,” Chanyeol pouted.  “You’re a snake and I’m a Hufflepuff, we just can’t be together.”

“You’re _still_ bitter about that?” Baekhyun whined at him.  “I’m an adult now, I bet my house changed!  You’re still the same, without a doubt.”

“I bet you’re a Hufflepuff now,” Chanyeol teased him and saw Baekhyun puff his cheeks at him.  “You’re just a Hufflepuff that needs time to open up to people and eat their sweets, brownie points are won much quicker if you’re given food.”

“Hey!” Baekhyun whined at him and heard Chanyeol laugh, he ate a forkful of his pumpkin spice cake and saw Chanyeol’s amused grin and watched the taller reach over and swipe the creamy icing off the corner of his mouth before licking his thumb.  “You’re a cliché romantic book in the young adult section, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called him out.

“Well, it always worked on you,” Chanyeol reminded him and gave him a cheeky grin when Baekhyun just sulked and poked at his remaining dessert.

“ _Rude,_ ” Baekhyun grumbled and felt Chanyeol nudge his foot lightly.

Before Chanyeol could go further, he felt his phone vibrate and he checked and saw that it was text from Hee-Chul that he had finished cleaning up the area as there had been an earlier feeding and that it was safe for Baekhyun to come over.

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol typing on his phone before sliding it back into his pocket, “Was it Hee-Chul?” he guessed.

“Yea, he said that he’s done cleaning,” Chanyeol nodded to him.

“Are you _sure_ you’re not a murderer and that Hee-Chul is a partner in crime?” Baekhyun asked him jokingly as he started to clean up his area.

“I can at least promise you that I’m not that,” Chanyeol responded and tossed his barely sipped at tea in the trash.

The couple headed back towards Chanyeol’s jeep and Hee-Chul’s den was a couple blocks away.  Chanyeol felt a little more nervous the closer they got and he could feel Baekhyun’s eyes on him.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called his name softly, when Chanyeol had parked the jeep in a parking lot and they were just sitting there for a few minutes.  “You know you don’t have to share anything with me, if you don’t want to.”

“You deserve to know,” Chanyeol told him honestly.  “You shared your life with me, now it’s my turn.”

Baekhyun watched Chanyeol get out of the jeep determinedly and he followed after the taller a little more slowly and he saw Chanyeol waiting for him.  They crossed the street and they were heading towards a flower shop and he felt even more confused, “I don’t understand…” he mumbled, gears turning, but he wasn’t connecting any dots.

The same shop owner from before brightened when she saw Chanyeol, “Welcome back!  My son informed me that you’d be dropping by again with a guest!”

“It’s nice to see you again, thank you,” Chanyeol bowed his head to her kindly and gestured for Baekhyun to follow him, he took Baekhyun’s hand into his own and guided him to the small hall behind the curtain of beads.

Okay, Baekhyun felt a little nervous now, especially when he was being led down a couple flights of stairs and it was almost too dark to see anything, other than the small lights built on the side of the stairs.  He shivered and felt Chanyeol squeeze his hand briefly and they stopped at a door, it opened without Chanyeol even knocking on it and he was being carefully pulled into a room that sort of reminded him of a bar, minus the high tables, the lights on the walls were dimmed, and the TVs mounted on the walls were off.

He saw a man reappear from a room and he had a wineglass in his hand filled with what looked like red wine, “Uh, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun blinked.  “Are you into larping, game dungeons, or BDSM?  What the fuck is going on?” he demanded

The man laughed and it was a sweet sound, Baekhyun almost felt his knees grow weak from the sound, but something in his head told him to snap out of it as that man wasn’t Chanyeol, and that made him question himself.

“Sorry for such a short notice, Hee-Chul,” Chanyeol apologized meekly to him.

“No, no!  This is exciting, I’ve never had a reveal here before,” Hee-Chul was all smiles.

 _Reveal?_ Baekhyun thought, he was looking between Chanyeol and Hee-Chul with a confused expression; he didn’t know what was going on, he was slightly afraid that Chanyeol was in some dangerous drug group.

Chanyeol felt Baekhyun flinch and saw the wariness in Baekhyun’s eyes when Chanyeol grabbed him by his wrists, “Baekhyun,” he saw that he had the human’s undivided attention, “I’m a vampire.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a lil angst on this holiday lmao, I'm sorry!!!

Baekhyun might not have been able to hear the crickets chirping from above ground, but Chanyeol and Hee-Chul could; the silence that overtaken the area was a bit uncomfortable, as both Chanyeol and Hee-Chul weren’t breathing, waiting for Baekhyun’s reaction, who was staring at Chanyeol for a solid unblinking two-minutes before bursting into a fit of laughter.

The human had doubled-over, Chanyeol had let go the moment Baekhyun started to laugh, and Baekhyun ended up on the floor, holding his stomach.

Chanyeol felt a little insulted, because Baekhyun had never laughed that hard at any jokes that he had thought up of while they were dating and his ego burned slightly in shame; he turned his head to Hee-Chul, who just sipped his blood from his wineglass and avoided the younger vampire’s pleading stare.

Several minutes had passed and Baekhyun was mostly giggling at this point as he stood back up, he wiped the tears from his face and gave Chanyeol an amused look, “That was probably the best laugh that I’ve had in _years_ ,” he applauded the taller and looked over to Hee-Chul.  “Were you supposed to be part of the joke?”

Hee-Chul cleared his throat and looked to Chanyeol, “Hold my wineglass,” he passed his dinner to a befuddled Chanyeol, who then curiously watched him approach Baekhyun, the human then gave Hee-Chul a cagey stare.

The older vampire stood in front of Baekhyun and put his hands on his hips as he gave Baekhyun a once over, “I’ll be honest, I would have expected you to start crying in fear, I was quite shocked to see you laugh in the face of two bloodsuckers.”

Baekhyun had an incredulous smirk on his face, “Are you for real right now?” he laughed, he cut his gaze to Chanyeol.  “What sort of bullshit has this whack-job given you, Chanyeol?”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol questioned him, frowning at Baekhyun’s curt tone.

“I’m not going to judge you for taking to drugs, because I’ve done some shit too, but a _vampire_?” Baekhyun scoffed.  “Is that what kids are calling it these days?” he asked Hee-Chul and then gestured to what Chanyeol was holding, “Is that the drug?”

“That’s my dinner,” Hee-Chul sounded affronted.  He gave Chanyeol a displeased look, “Your Siren has no manners.”

“Siren?” Baekhyun arched an eyebrow at him and folded his arms.  “Actually, I don’t care,” he shook his head when Hee-Chul opened his mouth to explain; he beckoned for Chanyeol to come to him.  “We’re leaving, God, I hope you’re not addicted to whatever this freak gave you,” he growled.

Hee-Chul narrowed his eyes, “Listen, _human_ ,” he sneered and saw that Baekhyun was giving him the same annoyed look. “there are no games here, Chanyeol has told you of his new status and you mock him and then insult me for being some lowly junkie!”

“Geez, you clutching at your pearls would really sell the image in you were wearing any,” Baekhyun commented dryly.  He looked back to Chanyeol and saw that the taller looked actually hurt, “What?” he sighed.  “This guy is not your friend, so don’t get mad at me for insulting some weirdo.”

“Baekhyun, you’re being a real jerk right now,” Chanyeol chided him and he saw that the human looked a little apologetic after being called out on his attitude.  “Hee-Chul isn’t a drug dealer either,” he added on behalf of Hee-Chul, who was still looking angry with the human; he really hoped that Hee-Chul didn’t have a line that was crossed, because Chanyeol had never considered fighting the elder vampire to keep Baekhyun safe.

“What do you explain this place then?” Baekhyun gestured widely around himself. 

“A donor den,” Hee-Chul supplied and saw the annoyed glare Baekhyun shot at him.

“A drug den,” Baekhyun concluded and shook his head.  “Whatever, it’s your business, but Chanyeol isn’t going to ruin his fucking life,” he focused to glare back to Chanyeol, “You’re not coming back here.”

“He can speak for himself,” Hee-Chul growled.  He could see Baekhyun about to argue and he lurched forward, he snarled loudly, fangs on display and he heard Baekhyun gasp and the human looked truly startled and Hee-Chul almost felt proud of himself until Baekhyun gave him a flat glare.

“You even got dental work done?  Unbelievable,” Baekhyun scoffed.

Chanyeol sighed and pattered forward, he gave Hee-Chul his glass back and saw the vampire take an angry sip from his dinner.  He took one of Baekhyun’s hands and put it against his cheek, “My skin is cold because I have no blood circulation,” he said softly, he moved Baekhyun’s hand down to the center of his chest, where his heart was and pushed a little firmly so Baekhyun could actually feel that he had no heartbeat, “my heart stopped beating two years ago,” he saw Baekhyun’s eyes widen and felt the human jerk his hand back.

“Shut up,” Baekhyun snapped, an angry flush colored his face, “don’t say stupid shit like that to me, Chanyeol, I mean it!”

Chanyeol winced at the hurt he could hear in those words, “I’m sorry, I’m just telling you the truth.”

“No,” Baekhyun shook his head, giving Chanyeol a heated glare.  “You eat food, you drink other liquids than just fucking blood, you sleep, you can go out in the sun!  You aren’t some fucking sparkly vampire with an angst problem!”

Hee-Chul rolled his eyes, “Even before that tasteless book, all those stereotypes of vampires are fake.  We can eat small portions of food, we can drink other things than blood because we can still absorb it for energy, even if it’s not a better substitute, we go into meditative trances, and we can survive the sun and not light up like a flame or like a disco ball.”

“You’re joking,” Baekhyun was looking at Chanyeol and jumped when the taller took his hand back again and slowly brought Baekhyun’s index finger to rest lightly against the canine tooth and his eyes widened when he felt it move, and he traced it and gasped when he actually nicked himself on Chanyeol’s tooth.

The reaction was spontaneous, Chanyeol’s brown eyes had shifted to a pitch black, a reddish hue mixed with it, his grip on Baekhyun’s hand increased until it felt like his bones were grinding against each other, and the low growl that came from the back of his throat scared Baekhyun; it wasn’t human sounding.

Hee-Chul placed a calming hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder, “You said that you’d never hurt Baekhyun,” he spoke gently.  “You came to my donor den to lessen the desire to feed, don’t go back on your promise just because you had a small taste; it’s not worth it, Chanyeol, it’s not worth losing Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun saw the fangs that Chanyeol was gritting together; they certainly were real or he would have felt them with his tongue when he and Chanyeol had made out in his jeep the day before and he had saw Chanyeol smile a lot and there had not been any fangs in sight.  His heart was pounding in his chest, he wondered if that was making it worse for Chanyeol to control and he sucked in a gasping breath and felt his eyes burn; Chanyeol was a monster and looked like he was less than one minute of wanting to pounce on him.

The taller immediately let go of Baekhyun and stepped back; Chanyeol’s whole body felt like a fucking livewire after just having a tiny drop of blood that hadn’t even touched his tongue, it had smeared against his fang, but it had been enough and he was hastily trying to push away the thought of how it would feel to sink his fangs into Baekhyun and drink every last drop.

Baekhyun was shakily holding the hand that had the almost papercut thin mark on his index finger, he didn’t try running away, afraid that it would trigger some predatory response from Chanyeol, because clearly, he knew nothing of vampires, other than their need to drink blood, but even if Chanyeol did move at regular speed, he was still far faster than Baekhyun because of his long legs.

Hee-Chul slowly lifted his hand from Chanyeol’s shoulder, a proud look on his face, “You did well, Chanyeol,” he praised.

Chanyeol was still holding his breath and his eyes were still trained on Baekhyun, who was shaking like a leaf in a breeze.  He knew he’d have to drink from a donor now, but because he had a taste of Baekhyun, nothing else sounded appealing and he wondered if a vampire could go bad from tasting their Siren once and never being able to feed from them; Hee-Chul’s creator had staked herself because her Siren had been taken from her, he didn’t know if she had fed from him.

The older vampire looked over to Baekhyun, “You don’t have to stand here in fright anymore, he won’t attack you.”

Baekhyun shakily took a step back before bolting out the door without a glance back, he heard Chanyeol wheeze and Hee-Chul consoling the other vampire; he didn’t look back, he ran and ran until his sides hurt and he thought he was going to throw up. 

He ended up in the park where he had spent his first whole day with Chanyeol in six years and he pulled out his phone; he ordered an Uber and anxiously paced and shook while he was waiting, by the time he got in, he was shaking like he was going through withdrawals and the driver was eyeing him oddly occasionally.

The ten-minute drive felt like hours and Baekhyun hastily thanked them before almost running his apartment, when he reached the top, he had a slight fear that Chanyeol was there and he looked over the railing to look for any sign of his jeep; his heart calmed a little when he didn’t see it.

It took him a few tries to get the key in the lock due to his shock and the cold, he saw Jongdae sitting on the couch, he must have come home early, and he must have looked like a wreck because the smile vanished off Jongdae’s face, replaced with pure concern.

“Baekhyun?” Jongdae got up from the couch; he didn’t bother to cautiously approach him, he just stepped right into Baekhyun’s space and pulled him into his arms.  “You’re freezing!”

Chanyeol was freezing too, because he was actually a real undead creature and Baekhyun broke down in tears; his ex-boyfriend was something out a nightmare and he cried as Jongdae pulled him back towards the couch and coddled the hell out of him.

He was a mess until Minseok got home a few hours later, the elder found his boyfriend and his best friend cuddled up on the couch, Jongdae had Baekhyun bundled in the couch blanket and basically on his lap; Jongdae peered over Baekhyun’s head and his face was in pure distress.

Minseok removed his shoes and coat and placed his messenger bag on the ground too, he saw that Baekhyun was mostly out of it, head tucked under Jongdae’s chin, but Minseok still saw the puffy eyes, the lingering tear tracks that Jongdae didn’t get to wipe away yet.

Jongdae was still holding Baekhyun to him, fingers carding through his hair, “I only just got him to calm down…or he passed out from being all cried out,” he murmured.

“Do you know what happened?” Minseok asked him, he had grabbed a tissue and carefully wiped away the tracks and saw Baekhyun’s nose scrunch up briefly in his sleep.

The younger shook his head, a frown on his lips, “I…I thought maybe Chanyeol would be with him, since Baekhyun told us that they were going out for the day.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Minseok murmured, he tucked the blanket up higher.  “I’ll get dinner started and then we can talk,” he leaned over to press a kiss to Baekhyun’s head and then kissed Jongdae.

Jongdae relaxed back into the couch and cuddled Baekhyun close; he just didn’t know what to think.

~~~

Chanyeol was sitting on one of the booth seats, he had his hands gripping both sides of his head and he was desperately trying not to freak out; he didn’t even think vampires could have panic attacks.

Hee-Chul was hovering around nervously, uncertain on what to do, as he never had a fledgling before, nor was he part of a Coven; comfort was something he wasn’t too great at.  He debated if he should contact Yifan, but decided against it, he didn’t want to do anything that would upset Chanyeol even more.

“I’m an idiot,” Chanyeol whispered; his eyes burned, but he couldn’t cry tears.

“No, how Baekhyun reacted is completely normal, most humans wouldn’t know how to react,” Hee-Chul responded, taking a seat next to Chanyeol.

Baekhyun wasn’t anything like Tao, Baekhyun would probably be gone for good because all he had with Chanyeol was past memories and a recent fling, Tao had Kris for a long time before Kris told Tao what he was and it was through that relationship that they had built up alone that saved them.

“He’s already been through so much, I should have just kept my mouth shut,” Chanyeol continued softly.

“You would have just been keeping him in the dark, giving him lies, it’s obvious that the boy has gone through some tough things, his very essence reeks of depression, I was shocked that it’s his blood that sings to you,” Hee-Chul confessed.  “Most vampires would steer clear, as they like their food to smell happy and inviting…Baekhyun does not.”

“Guess I won’t have to fight off other vampires then,” Chanyeol’s smile was grim and it slid off his face and he blankly stared at the concrete floor; he was uncertain on what to do.

“Oh, Chanyeol, this isn’t the end of the world for you,” Hee-Chul murmured, placing a cold hand on the younger vampire’s shoulder.  “Let him think about this for a few days.”

“What if he tells the authorities or something?  I don’t want police invading your home,” Chanyeol panicked.  He didn’t want to endanger his species, nor did he want police invading Hee-Chul’s den and he gave the older man a worried stare.

Hee-Chul gave him a fanged grin, “Humans are so easily subdued, do not worry about me.”

“I’ll always worry,” Chanyeol mumbled.  “You’ve been so kind to me, I don’t want my screw up to get you in some sort of trouble.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I promise that I will not be in any danger,” Hee-Chul patted his shoulder.  “But, you should still give your Siren a few days to process what was informed to him and then go visit,” he reminded.  He gave a soft sigh, “Oh, humans are so quick to reject that they don’t understand; they become the true monsters from fear,” he murmured, tracing his finger around the rim of his wineglass, his eyes watching the blood gently swirl in the glass.

Chanyeol gave him a nervous look, “Have humans ever rallied before against vampires?”

“You think your little Baekhyun could get a mob of hunters so quickly?” Hee-Chul chuckled.  He saw Chanyeol shake his head in disagreement, but Hee-Chul was still giving him an amused grin before it slid off his face, a neutral expression replacing his smile, “But to answer your question, yes, humans once did band together, but it was only fair, in my opinion.  Way back yonder, the Council did not have rules stating that humans could not be picked off and vampires gladly hunted during the day, humans were getting suspicious, but had no evidence, until a few humans had managed to escape and told their stories.  That group became the first vampire hunters and it was disheartening to see them mostly unprevail, I don’t want my species to be eradicated, but those humans had been fighting a war they couldn’t comprehend.”

“Did…did you hunt humans like that?” Chanyeol hesitantly asked, he saw the regret in Hee-Chul’s eyes and he quickly murmured an apology for prying.

“No, I want you to know, I wish for us to become good friends,” Hee-Chul replied.  He released a soft sigh, “But I did partake, I only stopped when the humans rebelled, only then did I see how truly scared they were of the unknown and I viewed myself as something that could never walk among them again if I continued to kill.  They’re so fragile and live short lives, but that had not occurred when I was drinking from my latest prey, I usually left before their heart completely stopped.”

“I’m glad that you changed,” Chanyeol replied, feeling relieved that Hee-Chul saw humans in a different light.

“You don’t really think about how you were once human when you’re turned,” Hee-Chul stated and gave Chanyeol a curious look to know how he felt.

With that startled realization, Chanyeol ducked his head, “It’s…starting to become blurry for me and it’s only been a couple years,” he confessed quietly.  He gave Hee-Chul a fearful look, “What if I start desensitize and hurt Baekhyun?” he voice shook; Baekhyun was fragile, not just emotionally, but physically too, Chanyeol had to literally run away from happy slapping his friends back in the States when they said something funny, because the first time, he hadn’t known he was so much stronger that he had almost dislocated a friend’s shoulder and after that, Chanyeol kept his hands to himself.

“You won’t,” Hee-Chul swore and he saw the doubtful look on the younger vampire’s face.  “You have a wonderful creator and he will always be there to remind you how to keep yourself in control, and Baekhyun is your Siren; I’ve been told that having one will keep you steady.”

“If he ever wants to see me again,” Chanyeol groaned and hid his face into his hands.

“In due time,” Hee-Chul reminded him gently.

 Chanyeol just wondered when he’d crack and crawl over to Baekhyun’s apartment; he was embarrassingly foldable when it came to Baekhyun, especially now.

He just hoped that he wasn’t going to snap quickly.

  


	13. Chapter 13

He lasted three days; Chanyeol was so damn proud of himself.

The vampire had told Kris and Tao what happened and both of them weren’t shocked in the slightest, but that didn’t stop them from worrying, as they didn’t know Baekhyun and worried for Chanyeol’s protection.

Chanyeol had reassured them that probably the biggest threat he was going to have to worry about was Minseok and Jongdae, because Baekhyun had left in a panic attack and Chanyeol hadn’t gone after him in fear that he’d only make it worse, and if his roommates saw how Baekhyun was, they’d pin the fault on him.

Which was why he was not going to Baekhyun’s front door.  Chanyeol stood at the bottom of the complex, peering up at the balcony where he could smell tobacco for the last few days; okay, so, he may have only given Baekhyun three days to wrap his head around the idea of Chanyeol being a bloodsucker, but Chanyeol may have been acting like a stalker and monitoring Baekhyun’s apartment.

He always came around when the sun was setting and the side that Baekhyun’s apartment was on was shadowed, so Chanyeol wasn’t risked of being seen by tenants, or the human he was currently lurking after.

With a quiet sigh, Chanyeol crouched low and briefly looked around himself, he didn’t sense any humans on the same ground as him and then he sprung up and silently grabbed the railing, he saw that he was directly behind Baekhyun, who was looking down at his phone that was in one hand, while the other flicked ashes off the end of his cigarette.

Before Baekhyun could bring it back up to his lips, Chanyeol had snatched it and tossed it off to the side, he heard Baekhyun’s sharp gasp and his heart had immediately started to pound.

Baekhyun whipped around and screeched when he saw Chanyeol now standing on top of the railing, giving him a disappointed look, “What the _fuck_ , Chanyeol?!” he shouted.

Before Chanyeol could reply, he heard hurried footsteps coming towards them and the glass sliding door to the balcony patio was being slid open, he saw Minseok poke his head out and saw the elder blinking owlishly to see Chanyeol there.

Chanyeol moved to sit on the railing instead and gave them both a sheepish grin, “Hello,” he greeted them.

“What are you doing here?” Minseok blinked, he sounded a little harsh, but Chanyeol couldn’t blame him.

“Just wanted to see Baekhyun for a moment,” Chanyeol answered.

“How the hell did you even get up here?” Minseok demanded, peering over the edge and gave Chanyeol an accusing stare.

“Uh, parkour?” Chanyeol gave him a question in reply and heard Baekhyun scoff at him and Minseok looked doubtful.

Minseok looked over to Baekhyun, silently asking him if Baekhyun wanted Chanyeol gone, he saw Baekhyun actually ponder that before shaking his head.  Minseok gave Chanyeol an ‘ _I’m watching you’_ gesture before sliding the door back shut, he peered around the curtain and squinted his eyes one last time at Chanyeol before vanishing somewhere in the apartment.

“Make it quick,” Baekhyun tried to sound threatening, but his heart was still hammering in his chest.

“You know why I’m here,” Chanyeol murmured and he watched Baekhyun flinch at that.  “I wouldn’t ever, _ever_ hurt you, Baekhyun,” he stated matter-of-factly.  “I’d rather stake myself than ever lay a harmful fang on you.”

Baekhyun still paled at those words, “If this is some extremely elaborated prank, Park, then knock it the fuck off,” he growled.

“I’m not joking!” Chanyeol snapped, he gritted his teeth, pulling them into a snarling exposure and he knew that Baekhyun could see his teeth and he willed his fangs to lower.  He saw Baekhyun sway and that’s when he reacted, carefully grabbing him and had him sit back down in the patio chair he had been on earlier, “Jesus, I’m starting to wish I didn’t tell you,” he muttered.

“Why did you?” Baekhyun demanded weakly.  He was shivering mostly in fear and not from the freezing wind and he watched Chanyeol remove his leather jacket he had been wearing and then draped it over Baekhyun’s shoulders; the inside was cold.

“Because I wanted to be truthful to you,” Chanyeol swore.  “I couldn’t keep lying to you about medical conditions that I don’t have, especially…if you and I ever decided to get back together,” his voice got softer at the end.

“It wouldn’t work,” Baekhyun told him curtly.  “You had a tiny dot of my blood before you nearly when apeshit on me.”

“Because you’re my Siren,” Chanyeol informed him and saw Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrow at him.  “Your blood draws me in, I’m not…an active blood drinker, at least, not from other humans, I will admit, I fed from two donors almost a week ago, because you make me hungry, but I’d never kill you for your blood,” he promised.

“But you killed two other people?!” Baekhyun nearly shouted and he saw Chanyeol shaking his head quickly at him.  He tried to get out of his seat because he was starting to freak out with Chanyeol looming over him, but the vampire quickly sat on the ground, so he was now looking up at Baekhyun.

“I didn’t kill them, Hee-Chul brings willing donors, those who are aware of vampires,” Chanyeol explained to him.  “Drinking fresh blood leaves vampires feeling fuller than from drinking bagged blood, it also makes us…a little livelier,” he muttered, somewhat awkwardly, avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze.

“And my blood could do that?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol uncertainly.

“Yea, but because you’re my Siren, I’d be fuller longer, I wouldn’t go out to drink from other donors, because…well…your blood is more potent,” Chanyeol tried to explain without making it sound like Baekhyun was just a buffet.

Baekhyun still understood what he was implying and it made a shiver roll up his spine, “So I’d just be a blood bank to you,” he stated, he’d be lying if he said that fact didn’t hurt his feelings; he felt like Chanyeol would just be using him.

Chanyeol looked at him fiercely, “You wouldn’t just be a blood bank to me, Baekhyun, and you know that,” he snapped.  He saw that Baekhyun actually looked a little guilty and Chanyeol exhaled softly, he saw that Baekhyun was now giving him a curious look.

“Do…do you even need to do that?” Baekhyun asked him quietly.

“Breathe?  No,” Chanyeol answered him and saw that Baekhyun still looked like he was still struggling to comprehend what Chanyeol was.  “I don’t need to do a lot of things anymore, I just…do it out of habit and Kris said that it brings less suspicion to us if we just act human.”

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped, “What?  Your manager is…is…he’s like you?” he whispered.

 _Shit._   Chanyeol couldn’t even flip that one, so, he just nodded, “He’s the one who actually turned me,” he carefully lifted his hand and reached for Baekhyun’s, he saw the human pull his hand back slightly before letting his hand to be taken into Chanyeol’s.  The vampire guided Baekhyun’s hand to his neck and he tilted his head to the side, “The bite marks have faded, they scar over after you’ve turned, and you can’t really see them, but you can sort of feel them though,” he explained and sensed that Baekhyun moved closer, the human had threaded his hand through Chanyeol’s hair towards the bottom to push the strands away to see the mark more clearly.

Baekhyun’s thumb brushed softly over the slightly raised skin of the puncture marks, he could faintly see them, but Chanyeol was right, they were most invisible to the human eye.  He swallowed thickly, eyes starting to water because he didn’t know _why_ Chanyeol had been turned, “Were you… _sick_?” he asked quietly.  He didn’t hate what Chanyeol was, he was scared because he couldn’t believe that vampires were fucking real and that he had gotten a hand job from one and kissed said vampire on more than one occasion.  Nothing frightened him more than the thought that Chanyeol had gotten sick overseas and that being bitten was the only way to save Chanyeol’s life.

“No, no,” Chanyeol said quickly, he felt the hand that had tightened in his hair release, he looked up at Baekhyun and saw the grief in his eyes.  “Hyunnie, I wasn’t sick, I met Kris and Tao during a trip to Vancouver.  Kris is very invested into music and he really liked the college that I went to and always sent good donations to them, so the president of the college would select three top students in their final year of graduation in the musical department and would send them to Kris on a paid trip, and we’d learn about the music industry hands-on,” he explained and with each word spoken, he felt Baekhyun relax.

“You were top of your class?” Baekhyun asked him, warmth flooded him; of course Chanyeol would be, the taller was nothing but determined and always enthusiastic about his work.

Chanyeol smiled and startled a little when one of Baekhyun’s hands cupped his face again; his fangs weren’t out and he still felt a little nervous at that contact, as he didn’t want a repeat of last time, but Baekhyun didn’t seem afraid this time.

“Did…he make you?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol hesitantly.

“No,” Chanyeol replied, just letting Baekhyun cup his face.  “He told me that he could see that my work was great right now and said that it would only get better over time, he asked if this was something that I could see myself doing forever, and I told him that I could, and then I met Tao, too, I was being interviewed for a job, which was horrifying and amazing at the same time, they liked my work and wanted me to sign with them and then six months of working with them and finishing up my degree, my graduation present was immortality.”

Baekhyun’s eyes searched Chanyeol’s face carefully, “Did it hurt?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol confessed and saw Baekhyun frown.  “It was agony for two days and I had wished that I would have died, but the morning of the third day of being bitten, I woke up.  Everything has been different since that day, but I don’t regret it now and I don’t think I ever will, because Kris and Tao are great and I want you to meet them sometime.”

“T-to turn me?” Baekhyun stammered.

It hadn’t been a thought of Chanyeol’s, because if anyone was going to turn Baekhyun, Chanyeol was going to be the one to do it.  He shook his head, “I wouldn’t let him.”

“Would you do it?” Baekhyun asked him faintly; he thought his head was going to explode from all this information.

“Only if you asked,” Chanyeol promised.  “But, I know you’re freaked out and terrified, I can taste it, so I won’t bother you until you think that you’re ready to talk to me again, I just want to get everything off my chest.”

“This is all very hard to wrap my head around,” Baekhyun confessed and he saw the sadness in Chanyeol’s eyes, “but, I don’t hate you for it…I just acted irrationally, because…wow, you’re…” he trailed off

“You can say it, I won’t burst into flames,” Chanyeol teased and saw Baekhyun puff his cheeks in annoyance.

“You’re an annoying, but cute vampire and I feel like I’m in sort of weird fanfiction right now,” Baekhyun sighed.  He ran his thumbs across Chanyeol’s cheekbones, watching the way his eyes flutter shut at the contact, he could feel how smooth, yet very cold skin under his warm touch.

Chanyeol just let himself bask in Baekhyun’s gentle affections, “I am sorry that I upset you,” he murmured. 

“I’m not mad,” Baekhyun swore, “and you were right to show me with that one guy, because if I was home, I probably would have called the police.”

“Seriously?” Chanyeol opened his eyes.  “And that _one guy_ is called Hee-Chul, he’s been very courteous towards me.”

Baekhyun shrugged, moving to comb his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair, even the strands were cool to the touch, his scalp didn’t have any warmth, “Maybe not the police, but I would have called Jongdae and Minseok after locking myself in the bathroom.  As for Hee-Chul, I should probably apologize to him…I’ll buy him some flowers from the upstairs of his—what was it?  Blood den?”

“Donor den,” Chanyeol corrected him.  “Believe it or not, I think that the flowers would actually make him happy, he’s an old soul.”

“Do vampires still have souls, since you’re technically dead?” Baekhyun pondered out loud and tapped his chin thoughtfully.  He shrugged to himself, “I believe that you still do, you’re too sweet to go anywhere else other than those pearly white gates.”

Chanyeol wanted to hide his face in embarrassment and heard Baekhyun laugh softly at his reaction.  He heard Baekhyun call his name gently and he pouted up at him, about to ask what he wanted when he felt a pair of warm lips press against his own chastely and Chanyeol was left dumbstruck.

“That was just to push away any lingering thoughts if you think that I haven’t entirely forgiven you or think I’m still upset in any shape way or form,” Baekhyun explained when he saw Chanyeol’s confusion.  Normally, he knew that Chanyeol’s face would have reddened at any type of affection that Baekhyun showed him, but his cheeks remained colorless, “Why is that your face only turns red occasionally?”

“Uh…” Chanyeol pursed his lips and then nervously picked at his chin; he saw Baekhyun giving him an expectant stare.  “Hee-Chul told me that vampires are able to blush and have a warm temperature to them if they feed directly from humans, so when you saw me and my face turned red, it was because I had recently fed and had blood circulation because my body was absorbing the fresh blood.”

Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly dropped to Chanyeol’s crotch and he saw Chanyeol hastily fold his arms over himself and hunch forward and Baekhyun was fighting back a bubble of laughter, “And you can only get it up that way too?” he asked and then remembered Chanyeol’s reaction when Baekhyun had been wearing his hoodie from when they had dated.

Chanyeol didn’t like that almost feral grin that slid across Baekhyun’s face, “You’re the monster here,” he whined and heard Baekhyun laugh.  “A sexual deviant, it should be your roommates protecting me from you!”

Baekhyun laughed heartily at his offended screech before giving Chanyeol a pleasant look, “Oh, I’m going to have fun with that information.”

Chanyeol didn’t even have to breathe in to know that Baekhyun was getting a little riled up at the thought of being the only one to get Chanyeol up and going and he pouted and looked away from the human, “We’re not doing anything, because you still need time to think if you still want me around.”

“Fair enough,” Baekhyun nodded.  “I suppose I can tell Jongdae and Minseok to back off.”

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked him.

“That day, I had gone home and Jongdae saw me first, I didn’t say anything, but they just figured it was you because I wouldn’t talk about you,” Baekhyun told him.  He saw Chanyeol deflate a little and Baekhyun quickly cupped his face, “Hey, don’t worry about them, they’re just assuming things.”

“It’s not really an assumption when their suspicions are right,” Chanyeol murmured, avoiding eye contact with the human.

Baekhyun kissed his cheek, “I’ll talk to them,” he promised.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry for suddenly dropping this all on you,” Chanyeol looked Baekhyun with a saddened expression; he felt like he was burdening Baekhyun.  “You’ve been so much and the last thing you need is a friggin vampire in your life.”

“Maybe something coolly abnormal is something that I need,” Baekhyun shrugged at him.  He suddenly gave Chanyeol a serious look, “Remember when we were 15 and we went to the pond that was behind my grandma’s house?”

Chanyeol nodded at him a little confusedly from the sudden subject change; Baekhyun’s grandmother had been a wonderful person and spoiled them both rotten with fresh baked goods and her passing had not been easy for either of them.

“Remember when I told you I saw a mermaid, are they real too?” Baekhyun’s eyes were practically sparkling.

That was the most animated Chanyeol had ever saw Baekhyun after seeing him again and all Chanyeol could do was laugh and pull Baekhyun to his chest and bury his face into Baekhyun’s soft hair; they’d be all right.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I was tired of slowburning myself.  
> Baekhyun is a monster fucker, confirmed.  
> And surprise! New person for once!

The following week had creeped up on Chanyeol; he hadn’t really been paying attention to the days that passed, as he had been writing song lyrics and making instrumental compositions to busy the time when he was left alone.   

Baekhyun texted him over the weekend, but come Monday, he was busy with work after the shortened week due to Thanksgiving, and his skills was in great demand for final edits for other K-Pop albums that were in their final form, and he’d send Chanyeol picture texts of his work with crying face emojis because he was so tired from staring at a computer screen, which Chanyeol would take that his cue to deliver a sweet hot-chocolate and some cake for his human.

He had met Baekhyun’s partner in crime that day, Chanyeol had Starbucks in his hands along with a paper bag filled with pumpkin spice scones and he knocked on Baekhyun’s office door before sliding in and froze when he breathed in another scent somewhat similar to his own, but it reminded him of late autumn, after the fresh smell of fallen leaves had started to fade.

He met eye contact with another man, he was leaning over the back of Baekhyun’s office chair, his eyes narrowed at Chanyeol, eyes dark as the winter night sky, his platinum blonde hair was styled up carefully, his thin lips were already in a frown that seemed to deepen when he realized that there was another vampire in the same room as him.

Baekhyun turned when he heard the door open and he smiled kindly to Chanyeol, only for it to dim when he saw that Chanyeol wasn’t paying him any attention.  He saw that Chanyeol’s eyes were trained unblinkingly onto Sehun, almost challengingly and he tilted his head back to look up the other graphic artist, “Have you two met before?

“No,” Sehun’s answer was curt.

Chanyeol didn’t say anything, he simply walked to the edge of Baekhyun’s desk and placed the sweet coffee and baked treats down, he cut his gaze over to the other vampire again, “Chanyeol,” he introduced himself.

“I’m aware,” Sehun responded monotonously; standing a little protectively in front of Baekhyun.

It sucked, because Chanyeol couldn’t even use his height as an advantage, as he and the blonde were about the same height and he wasn’t even sure about how strong the other vampire was, he looked like a beanpole, but Chanyeol wasn’t about to try his hand.

Baekhyun still noticed the stare off and it suddenly clicked for him, “Uh, Sehunnie, you don’t need to protect me,” he said and saw Sehun look at him in confusion.  “I know what Chanyeol is,” he stated and saw Sehun’s eyes widened before whipping around to give Chanyeol a shocked look as well. It only confirmed what Baekhyun had speculated and he pouted unhappily, “Geez, I thought we were close, Sehun!  Secrets don’t make friends!”

Chanyeol snickered softly at Sehun’s bewildered expression, “Sorry, I adore him too much to keep things from him,” he explained to the blonde.

“You’d jeopardize our kind?” Sehun demanded angrily, practically hissing the words at Chanyeol before looking sheepishly at Baekhyun.  “I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t trust you, I was just taught to keep what I am a secret, no matter the bond to a human.”

Feeling a little defensive for Baekhyun, Chanyeol gave the vampire a warning stare, “Don’t get upset with him, I told him because he’s my Siren, he has the right to know.”

“Jesus, Baek, you just can’t catch a break, can you?” Sehun exasperatedly sighed at that information.  He stepped away from Baekhyun, steering clear of Chanyeol’s space and plopped on the couch and looked between them, “So you’ve told him everything?”

Baekhyun didn’t like the bitter look at was Sehun’s sharp face, “Hey, you don’t have to be upset with him, I pried a little bit for some more insight.”

“How long have you been turned?” Chanyeol asked him, as Sehun didn’t really give off an aura that he was very old, but he certainly held himself with more grace than some younger vampires.

Sehun chewed at his bottom lip for a moment, debating if he should say anything at all, before sighing quietly, “It’ll be my tenth year next May,” he confessed.

“Wow,” Chanyeol and Baekhyun said simultaneously.

Sehun pulled a face, “Ugh, you two are a fresh couple again, but still have the mannerisms from your previous long-term relationship.”

“How do you know about that?” Chanyeol asked; he was worried that he had bumped into Sehun when he was human during high school.

Sehun briefly flickered his gaze over to Baekhyun, “It was hard to miss he regret and sorrow from a particular someone when it came to working on your albums.”

Baekhyun’s cheeks heated and he and he scowled at his computer, “Well, no one asked you stick your nose into my emotional field.”

“It’s hard to avoid it when it floods the room,” Sehun countered.

“You have your own office,” Baekhyun snapped at him and he saw Sehun’s eyes narrow at him.

“Hey, don’t start bickering,” Chanyeol cut them both off when they looked ready to snarl at each other.  “Geez, Baekhyun, please pick fights against other humans, because I can win those, Sehun, it wasn’t cool for you to invade Baekhyun’s private emotions.”

The two just glared at each other briefly before they both muttered apologies.

Chanyeol leaned against Baekhyun’s desk and pushed the treats he brought closer to Baekhyun, “Here, take these, you get grumpy when you haven’t had your sweets,” he reminded and he heard Sehun’s low amused exhale.

Baekhyun snatched the scones bag and nibbled on one and let out a content sound, mood uplifting immediately and he heard Chanyeol chuckle fondly at him, “What?” he grumbled around a mouthful.

“Nothing, just you being you,” Chanyeol grinned and wiped the crumbs from Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Gross,” Sehun groused.

“The door is to your right, Sehun,” Baekhyun reminded him cheerfully.

“I’m probably going to be taking off, Sehun, so don’t worry about it,” Chanyeol told the blonde.  He didn’t miss Baekhyun’s small pout, nor the quiet whine the human made and Chanyeol turned to look at him and leaned to kiss the top of his head, “You know where I’ll be, or if you want me to come over, I can do that too, as long as your roommates still don’t was to castrate me.”

“Ooh, did you get on the bad side of his two dads?” Sehun asked him.

Baekhyun threw the wadded-up bag his scones came in at Sehun, but the vampire easily caught it and tossed it into the trashcan, “Fuckin’ vampires,” he muttered.

“I think so,” Chanyeol responded unhappily and he felt Baekhyun take his hand between his own.

“They’re not mad,” Baekhyun said, “they…just still are a little wary of the situation.”

“Wait, do they know too?” Sehun asked him quickly.

“No,” Baekhyun shook his head.  “It was the day Chanyeol told me…and showed me what he was, I had freaked out and left, I was a gross mess and my roommates just assumed…”

Sehun gave Chanyeol a sympathetic look, “Good luck, bro, because when it comes to Baekhyun, those two will be the coldest people to you if you hurt him.”

“Yea, I know, I think Minseok threated to kill me without words when I left Baekhyun’s apartment on Friday and I was too afraid to go back over the weekend,” Chanyeol frowned and saw Baekhyun’s confusion.  He looked back to Baekhyun, “The intent was in his eyes, Baek, he didn’t have to even gesture.”

“Sorry,” Baekhyun apologized to him, “I’ll tell him to layoff.”

“It’s okay,” Chanyeol shrugged at him. “As long as you’re okay with me, then that’s the only thing I need.”

It still upset Baekhyun that his roommates were being overprotective; he wasn’t that fragile.  He fiddled with Chanyeol’s fingers absentmindedly, “So…I shouldn’t invite you over just yet for tomorrow,” he said quietly.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “Did you want to have a date tomorrow?”

“It’s your birthday, remember?” Baekhyun reminded him slowly and he saw Chanyeol looked genuinely surprised.  “Did you forget?”

“Maybe…” Chanyeol sheepishly answered.

Sehun laughed, “Does it suck that much to be a solo artist?”

“Mm, no, it is a little hectic at times,” Chanyeol told him.  “I was just busy writing new songs, I just forgot what day it was.”

“Hard working cutie,” Baekhyun teased him and heard Chanyeol groan in complaint, he poked at Chanyeol’s sides, but the taller didn’t even flinch.  “Oh, come on, you’re not even ticklish anymore?!”

“One perk of being undead,” Sehun mused and heard Chanyeol agree with him.

“I won’t keep you distracted, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Chanyeol said when Baekhyun stopped his whining of the unfairness of it all.  He kissed Baekhyun’s forehead, “So…I’ll see you tomorrow, still?”

“Yea, I’ll come over,” Baekhyun replied.  He bit his bottom lip uncertainly before letting it go a moment later, “You can’t eat solids, right?”

“I can, just not a lot, or I’ll start to feel sick,” Chanyeol informed him and Sehun was nodding at that.  “I can drink most liquids and be fine, it’s a minor substitute if I can’t get any blood.”   

Baekhyun fought to keep himself collected and figured he passed, because even though Chanyeol didn’t redden in the face when he could sense that he was riled up, the vampire’s eyes always would darken when he could tell that Baekhyun was aroused.

“Any particular reason why?” Chanyeol asked him cheekily.

“No,” Baekhyun blushed.  “I just didn’t want to cook anything if you can’t even eat it.”

“Mm, smart on your part for playing it safe, I somehow have to convince my mother not to make anything,” Chanyeol sighed.

“Good luck with that,” Baekhyun chuckled.  “Okay, well, I’ll be over in the evening after work, all right?”

Chanyeol nodded and stood up, after nuzzling Baekhyun one last time and waved goodbye to Sehun, “I’ll text you later,” he winked to his human, who just waved him off, and then Chanyeol was out the door.

“He’s out of earshot,” Sehun said after a few minutes.  He didn’t know if was going to enjoy this conversation that he could sense stirring up from Baekhyun the moment the door closed.

“Good, because for the next hour of our lunch, I want you to give me all the details on how to properly please a vampire,” Baekhyun stated determinedly.

Sehun wished that he could become one with the couch.

~~~

Chanyeol woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes and his mother’s happy humming from downstairs; he was surprised that he hadn’t been awake before her, but he had been trying deeper meditation, especially due to him hanging around Baekhyun; his bloodthirst has been nagging at him and his gums were hurting from keeping his fangs hidden.

He took a warm shower to start his day and then after getting dressed in a hoodie and some loose jeans and warm socks, he walked downstairs and rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw his mother wearing a bright blue sundress layered under a white sweater and she was flipping the last batch of pancakes onto a plate.

His mother turned and she stopped humming to smile brightly at her son and put the plate down and walked over to him with her arms open for a hug, which Chanyeol happily met her half way, “Oh, happy birthday, my sweet boy,” his mother cooed and kissed his cheeks.  She cupped his face, “You need to stop sleeping with the windows open at night, you’ll catch a cold!” she chided as she tried to warm his face with her hands.

Chanyeol just smiled, even if it was a little guiltily; she was oblivious and Chanyeol planned to keep it that way for a while.  He thanked her for the breakfast and snagged a couple, these wouldn’t hurt him and he poured some syrup onto them, his mother sat a large glass of orange juice in front of him too.

“You’re still growing, you need to drink a lot of juice,” his mother said, making her own breakfast.  As she settled down after making herself a cup of coffee, she looked to Chanyeol happily, “What are your plans for today?”

“I…uh, actually planned on working today,” Chanyeol told her and he saw his mother giving him a chiding look, “b-but, Baekhyunnie said that he’d be over after work today,” he quickly added.

“Oh?” his mother smiled.  “Will I get to see my son-in-law more frequently?”

“U-Umma,” Chanyeol whiningly stammered and squeezed his eyes shut in fake pain when his mother pinched his cheek.  “I don’t know what our plans are, but maybe we will go out for dinner or something.”

“Oh, it will be so cold,” his mother fretted.  “Why don’t you and Hyunnie stay inside?” she prompted.  “I will be out with my girls a little late after work today, so you two can have some time together!”

Chanyeol almost sunk in his chair in embarrassment; his mother wasn’t even trying to be subtle about what she was implying.  _Am I that grumpy as of late?  Do I_ really _need to get laid?_ He wondered, pouting his cheeks and glowered at his breakfast like it was the one that told him he’s been a stick in the mud.

“Did you still want to go to the festival this weekend?  Your sister was asking,” his mother said, interrupting his internal pouting.

“Yes,” Chanyeol nodded happily, mood uplifting.  “I’ll invite Baekhyun and his roommates to come with us, his friends are really kind,” he said to his mother; he just hoped that they weren’t still against him.

His mother looked happy at that, “The more company, the better the birthday,” she smiled.  She gestured her fork to Chanyeol’s plate, “Make sure you eat up!  Or Hyunnie won’t look twice at a stick man!”

Chanyeol shoveled a bite of the blueberry pancakes into his mouth and for a brief moment, human food didn’t taste so bland.

~~~

Chanyeol looked up when he heard a soft knock from downstairs, he pushed away from his desk and dropped his pen back onto his journal.  He saw Toben standing at the door, tiny tail wagging at a blinding speed and Chanyeol didn’t have to look out the window; it was Baekhyun.

Said human flashed him a warm grin, despite his face being bright pink from the cold and stepped inside when Chanyeol held the door for him.  Baekhyun giggled when Chanyeol started to unbutton his jacket after unwinding the scarf from around his neck and hung it up, Baekhyun slid off his boots after putting the plastic bag he brought with him on the floor and hung his jacket up and shivered, warming his hands with his breath.

“Forget your gloves?” Chanyeol asked as he walked into the all, Baekhyun and Toben following after him.

“Mm,” Baekhyun timidly nodded and watched Chanyeol walk into the kitchen.  He bent over to give the poodle some pats in greeting and grabbed the plastic bag again before trailing after the vampire, Toben went to go curl up in his doggy bed.

Chanyeol started to warm up milk and grabbed the small canister of cocoa mix and a bag of mini marshmallows, he gestured for Baekhyun to sit down, “How was work?” he asked.

The question had Baekhyun flushing, because it all felt too domestic for him, “Uh, it was okay, I finished another project, Sehun actually isn’t too distant anymore, and Jongdae and Minseok took me out to lunch; they’ve given you their blessings for your birthday, by the way.”

“I’m surprised the roof didn’t collapse on me,” Chanyeol muttered as he stirred in the powdered chocolate.

“Oh, hush, they don’t hate you,” Baekhyun reassured him as he put the bag down by his feet when he sat.  He thanked Chanyeol and felt his cheeks warm when the taller kissed his cheeks and forehead, “You’re too sweet for me.”

“Mm, dunno about that,” Chanyeol replied and sat in the chair across from Baekhyun and watched Baekhyun drop a small mountain of mini marshmallows into his drink.  He watched the warmth being soaked into Baekhyun’s skin, he could heard the human’s heart beating more calmly now after his body was warming back up, “Other than that, what else are you up to?”

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked him innocently.

Chanyeol leaned slightly to look at the imposing bag, it was unmarked and blacked out, he could smell latex, the plastic rubber of band-aids, antiseptic, and even though he didn’t know that unscented lube had a scent, he knew that was what he was smelling.

Baekhyun’s face warmed, “Uh, happy birthday?  I’m your gift?”

“What’s the return policy?” Chanyeol inquired and watched Baekhyun scowl at him.  He started to laugh at Baekhyun’s offended pout and he stood up to bring Baekhyun close, who was now trying to resist him, “You know I’m joking, because you’re the best gift for every occasion.”

“Well, I guess Christmas will be simple, then,” Baekhyun said distractedly as Chanyeol was kissing slowly up his neck.  “I didn’t even finish my hot chocolate,” he whined unhappily when Chanyeol was starting to herd him back towards the stairs after snatching the plastic bag.

“I’ll warm you up,” Chanyeol promised.

“With what body heat?” Baekhyun snarked as he was walking up the stairs.

“I bought a heater blanket,” Chanyeol responded and hitched Baekhyun up his body half way up the stairs, as his human was taking his time moseying up the stairs to Chanyeol’s bedroom.

“That’s fine, but what about your mom?  I figured we’d have to make it quick or…I dunno, only do some fast foreplay,” Baekhyun said, arms resting around Chanyeol’s shoulders as the taller easily carried him to his childhood bedroom.

“She’s out for the night, oddly enough, she implied that I should get laid,” Chanyeol informed him as he carefully lowered Baekhyun onto his bed and sat the bag on the nightstand.  “You weren’t scheming with my innocent Umma, were you?”

“Uhm, no, because that would weird,” Baekhyun shivered at that.  The uncomfortable shiver shifted into a pleasured one when Chanyeol was over him, lips pressing softly to his jaw, “Doesn’t being close to my neck make you on edge?”

“Being around you in general makes me on edge,” Chanyeol responded, still nosing along Baekhyun’s slender neck, eyes shut as he basked in the blissful smell of his human.

“Good, then my next proposition won’t be an issue,” Baekhyun stated firmly and undid his belt.

Chanyeol pulled back at that, “Do…do you want me to blow you?”

“As nice as that would be, your mouth is probably an icebox and I don’t want my dick to get frostbite,” Baekhyun mused.  He shimmed his jeans off, along with his socks, and was lying in his boxers now, sweater pushed halfway up his tummy; he watched Chanyeol slowly sweep his gaze over Baekhyun’s laid out form.

Chanyeol felt his control slip a little and he almost backed up, but Baekhyun started to talk again.

“Sehun is quite useful for information, I didn’t know that he had so much informative stuff to share,” Baekhyun mused.

“You bullied him into it, you brat,” Chanyeol almost wheezed because he could practically taste how aroused Baekhyun was.

“Maybe, but for a good cause,” Baekhyun smiled cheekily and sat up.  “Kiss me,” he murmured and felt giddy when Chanyeol leaned back down to answer his request.  He slowly lowered himself back to lie down again, the vampire following until he had Chanyeol pressed against him, Baekhyun felt that pleasant weight of his partner pushed between in his legs and he couldn’t stop the soft moan from escaping him.

“O-Okay, so now what?” Chanyeol questioned him, he was resting on his forearms, looking into Baekhyun’s slightly hazy eyes and he was worried that he had done something to him before Baekhyun blinked a few times to gather his bearings again.

“I’m a Siren, right?  Yours specifically, so I’m your snack,” Baekhyun laughed.  He saw that Chanyeol looked a little upset and Baekhyun kissed him before pulling back slowly, “I know I’m more than that to you,” he reassured him.  “I won’t make jokes like that if it makes you sad.”

“Thank you, because you are important to me,” Chanyeol responded and nuzzled into Baekhyun’s neck.

“Which makes me not uncomfortable for me to ask you to feed from me,” Baekhyun said bravely.  He felt Chanyeol’s whole body lockup, “I trust you,” Baekhyun’s fingers stroked through Chanyeol’s smooth hair.  “Sehun has a Siren too, although he’s always been a vampire, they feed from each other, it’s impossible for them to drain each other, because they know when to stop.”

“But that wouldn’t matter, because they’re both undead, you’re not,” Chanyeol stressed, looking at Baekhyun now.

“But you won’t hurt me,” Baekhyun soothed him.  He rocked his hips up enticingly against Chanyeol’s, even if he was the only who could get aroused right now, “It doesn’t have to be from my neck either, plus, I’d rather not have to wear turtleneck and you know how clingy Jongdae gets and how creepily observant Minseok is, the best place would be my thighs.”

Despite Chanyeol’s fear of hurting Baekhyun, the sudden moan that escaped him surprised him and Baekhyun’s pleased grin had him hiding his face back into Baekhyun’s neck, “But what if I can’t stop?”

“You can, you stopped for donors, didn’t you?” Baekhyun questioned him.

“You’re different, your blood is far more special,” Chanyeol was shaking his head and he heard Baekhyun sigh in annoyance.

“Chanyeol, if you feed from me, you can fuck me,” Baekhyun reminded him.  “And I’m a bit selfish, I’ve missed your touch and the way that you feel in me.”

Chanyeol swallowed uneasily, but it was hard to ignore the way Baekhyun’s skin was warming his own and he could feel Baekhyun’s dick pressing against his stomach.  He exhaled shakily, “Fine,” he murmured.

Baekhyun grinned happily and pushed himself up a little so he could rest his head better onto the pillows, “Do I need to do anything?” he asked.

“No,” Chanyeol shook his head and shucked off his hoodie, he caught Baekhyun’s hooded stare and watched the way Baekhyun’s pink tongue swiped slowly between his lips.  He almost thought to have Baekhyun straddling his face, but he wasn’t for sure how Baekhyun would be when he was actually feeding; he was worried if Baekhyun went limp from the numbing venom and somehow hurt himself, so he just slid back a little and grabbed Baekhyun’s right, arched leg, he pressed a soft kiss to the side of his knee, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“No, it’s why I brought a first aid kit too for nothing,” Baekhyun sarcastically responded and he gasped a little when Chanyeol nipped warningly where his knee bent.  He let himself sink back as Chanyeol’s cold, but soft lips slowly mouthed up his thigh, he quivered when Chanyeol stopped at the softest part of his inner thigh, he felt Chanyeol’s strong hands knead both of his thighs slowly, he wasn’t for sure if was meant to soothe him or Chanyeol.

Chanyeol would flicker his gaze up ever so often when he was making his way up Baekhyun’s leg, he watched the relaxed glaze overtake Baekhyun’s gaze, listening to his breaths become ragged at points when Chanyeol would nip playfully at his skin, he massaged at Baekhyun’s thighs slowly until the human was basically limp under his touch.  He licked his lips because Baekhyun’s thighs were something that Chanyeol had a hyper-fixation on, they were soft and smooth along with the rest of his body and Chanyeol couldn’t wait to sink his fangs into that soft skin.

“Yeollie,” Baekhyun murmured when the vampire was still just holding his leg and rubbing the inside of his thigh with his thumb, he saw Chanyeol jump slightly and Baekhyun gave him a comforting smile and watched Chanyeol lower himself back down; his heart did start to quicken when he felt Chanyeol’s lips ghost over his skin again, this time with a hint of fang.

“Just relax,” Chanyeol said softly, he placed a kiss where he was going to bite and he felt a small lick of unease go through him, but he trusted himself; he’d be strong and wouldn’t hurt Baekhyun.  He nuzzled the soft spot again, “Okay,” he whispered and his fangs came down fully, he had to make it quick and the moment his venom pooled into his fangs Chanyeol snapped forward.

Baekhyun gasped the moment he felt the fangs sink into his flesh, he didn’t know that Chanyeol had bottom fangs too, but he didn’t feel any pain; his body went limp and all he could do was moan softly every time Chanyeol sucked in a mouthful of blood and he could hear was Chanyeol’s pleasured groans, he could feel Chanyeol’s fingers digging on the outside of his leg and his other hand pressing firmly on the inside, near where Chanyeol was feeding from and it’s all Baekhyun could focus on, was the touch of the vampire, him drinking from Baekhyun, and listening to the pleasured sounds Chanyeol released ever so often.

It was barely two minutes, but for Chanyeol, it felt like it had been an eternity and he made himself pull back; he felt almost drunk and he lapped over the bite slowly, feeling Baekhyun’s thigh quiver.  He licked his lips, savoring the taste, he didn’t realize that he had his eyes closed and he blinked them sluggishly and _fuck_ was that a high Chanyeol enjoyed.

He sat back and looked over Baekhyun, his Siren’s cheeks were rosy somehow, breath coming as sharp, little gasps between parted lips; Baekhyun looked like a beautiful wreck and Chanyeol was going to ruffle him up more.

After making sure he couldn’t taste the blood in his mouth anymore, Chanyeol leaned over to grab the plastic bag, he saw the mini first-aid kit Baekhyun had bought and he grabbed it and smeared a dollop of the Neosporin that was in the kit over the puncture marks; Chanyeol had a pleasant shiver ripple through him because those were _his_ bitemarks.

Baekhyun had come to when he felt Chanyeol patting the bandage down and squirmed when Chanyeol pinched his other thigh lightly to get his attention, “Are you done?” he asked, voice slightly raspy.

Chanyeol nodded and leaned over him to kiss Baekhyun, he felt Baekhyun’s hands running up his arms and heard him gasp softly, “Hmm?” he hummed in question when they started to kiss.

“You’re warm, like _alive_ warm,” Baekhyun stated when he turned his head slightly away to talk.  He wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck when the vampire nibbled at the skin just under his earlobe and felt the vampire grind his hips against Baekhyun’s.  His eyes snapped open when he felt Chanyeol and he swallowed thickly, because _holy shit_ he may have forgotten how big the taller was and he was certainly excited to have that in him.

“The first time I fed,” Chanyeol started and then paused to kiss at Baekhyun’s fluttering pulse point, “it took me a while to warm up, to _feel_ like I had when I was human,” he rocked his hips slowly against Baekhyun’s and listened to him whine.  “Yours is _so_ good, Hyunnie,” Chanyeol groaned and felt Baekhyun shake under him.

“I’m glad,” Baekhyun’s voice was breathless as he felt like he was about come undone in seconds if Chanyeol didn’t stop grinding against him.  He felt a surge of self-pride to be the one who made Chanyeol feel so good and he arched up and moaned and let out a shaky breath as the vampire rubbed him through his boxers, “ _Yeol_ ,” he gasped.

Chanyeol’s tongue ran over Baekhyun’s slowly and he kissed him almost lazily, he could feel Baekhyun’s fingers skimming gently over his sides, “Are you ready?”

Baekhyun shivered at the low rumble and he nodded; he suddenly felt so shy.  He felt Chanyeol push himself up and Baekhyun immediately gripped onto Chanyeol’s shoulders, heat rushed to his cheeks and he let his grip relax, “Sorry,” he whispered.

The vampire didn’t say anything, but he could taste the fear that Baekhyun briefly immitted, Chanyeol leaned down to kiss Baekhyun’s forehead, “I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured when he was looking down at him and watched the human nod timidly in answer.

Baekhyun watched lace their hands together and rest them over Baekhyun’s stomach and heard the rustle of the plastic bag, Chanyeol snagged the lube and the condom box.  He saw Chanyeol’s gentle smile when he was caught staring and Baekhyun averted his gaze quickly, “I-I can’t explain the clinginess.”

“And you don’t need to,” Chanyeol replied, “I still…” he trailed off, almost too afraid to continue what he was going to tell him.

“Still what?” Baekhyun asked him, looking at him curiously now.

Chanyeol stared over Baekhyun’s head and felt the human squeeze his fingers lightly and the vampire looked back at Baekhyun, “I still love you for who you are, even after what all has happened, even if you don’t think you could return those feelings now, I won’t ever hold that against you.  I’m happy if you’re happy.”

“Chanyeol, you aren’t a rebound for my mental health, why the fuck would you ever think that?” Baekhyun demanded.  He saw the shame on Chanyeol’s face and Baekhyun quickly cupped his face, the warmth that was now coursing through the vampire was surreal to him, but it was welcome.  Baekhyun soothingly rubbed is thumbs across Chanyeol’s cheekbones, “I know this is moving fast, but I still know you, you’re still you, even from six years ago.  We’re older with more developed thoughts and opinions, but you’re still you and I’m still me, we’ve both just had some altering chapters, but we’re the same to the core.”

Chanyeol looked into Baekhyun’s eyes, seeing the honesty, and he kissed Baekhyun before pulling back, a hand cupping Baekhyun’s face, “I love you,” he whispered and kissed him again.  He kissed Baekhyun until Baekhyun had to pull away first to catch his breath and Chanyeol mouthed at his neck, listening to Baekhyun’s pleasured gasps.

Baekhyun thought he wasn’t going to last much longer, because Chanyeol still remembered what made him feel good and nudged Chanyeol to be level with him again and he threaded his fingers into Chanyeol’s thick hair and kissed his cheek, “ _Please_ , Yeollie,” he whispered.

“Right, right, sorry,” Chanyeol apologized meekly, he pushed himself back up; his face went red and he heard Baekhyun giggle quietly, “What?” he whined.

“You still get so embarrassed about intimate things, even if it’s something that you’ve seen before,” Baekhyun teased and heard Chanyeol grumble softly.  He gave Chanyeol a fond smile, “I still love it though.”

The softness of Baekhyun’s tone made Chanyeol feel all gooey and he distracted himself with actually warming the bottle of lube between his hands, “I’m glad…because you still make me nervous.”

The grin Baekhyun was giving Chanyeol was adoring, “It’s just me, Yeol, I don’t bite…much.”

Chanyeol scoffed softly, “You bit me a lot and marked up my neck during our last year of high school.”

“That’s because the sophomore captain of the cheerleading team was wanting to get with you,” Baekhyun huffed.  “I was just simply displaying that you already had someone and the fact that you aren’t a skirt chaser.”

“You’re _such_ a mean girl,” Chanyeol teased him and listened to Baekhyun laugh; a happy warmth flooded him and Chanyeol just let Baekhyun’s joy sink into his memory, he loved the way his eyes turned into crescents, the way his cheeks turned pink from laughter, his bright, boxy smile; he wanted to savor this moment forever.

“C’mon, get undressed,” Baekhyun sat up now, tugging at the bottom of Chanyeol’s shirt and grinned as Chanyeol pulled his shirt off.  “Mm,” he hummed, splaying his hand over Chanyeol’s abdomen, he poked playfully and then huffed when Chanyeol hadn’t flinched away from him.  “Oh…right, you’re undead and therefore, can never be tickled again.”

“It’s not a bad perk,” Chanyeol shrugged and he saw Baekhyun’s pout and he leaned down to kiss it away.  “Your face will get stuck that way, but I guess I prefer your cute pout versus the scowl you always seem to be wearing.”

“I’ve been told by many annoying men and women that I look adorable when I’m two seconds away from gutting in them the frozen food section, thank you,” Baekhyun replied and he saw Chanyeol’s eyes narrow slightly. 

“I guess it’s my turn to mark up your neck and show others that you’re taken,” Chanyeol huffed.

“Guess so,” Baekhyun’s eyes were lit with mischief.

Chanyeol didn’t waste any time getting undressed and slid the rest of Baekhyun’s clothes off too, he grabbed the lube and nudged Baekhyun’s legs apart and heard Baekhyun’s heartbeat flutter.

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip when he felt the stretch and drew Chanyeol back over him carefully, feeling Chanyeol’s fingers twist in him that made him gasp loudly and Chanyeol paused.

“Did I hurt you?” Chanyeol asked, he saw Baekhyun shake his head at him in disagreement, and he pushed two of his fingers back in slowly and listened to Baekhyun breathe in sharply.  He went back to kissing Baekhyun as a distraction and pretty soon worked a third finger in and focused on properly stretching Baekhyun and lapping slowly into his mouth ever so often.

Baekhyun whined quietly, “Okay, please, you can stop now,” he was squirming slightly as Chanyeol kept rubbing his fingers against his prostate and he was worried that he was going to come early if Chanyeol didn’t quit it.  He tore into the box of condoms and pulled the packaging off, he stroked Chanyeol’s dick slowly, gripping the way he remembered how Chanyeol liked it and clearly did as the taller groaned lowly and pushed his hips forward in Baekhyun’s grip, he then slid the condom on Chanyeol  and found himself pushed back onto his back, legs spread and hiked over Chanyeol’s hips, and then Chanyeol was carefully pushing into him.

Chanyeol felt his own breath hitch at the sensation and leaned over Baekhyun when he felt like he was going to keep shaking if he stayed on his knees any longer.  He could hear Baekhyun’s heart pounding, feeling the heat rise to Baekhyun’s skin, tasting his hormonal arousal; this all he needed right now.

Baekhyun pushed his chest out when he felt Chanyeol pull out slightly to push back in until the taller was rocking back into a steady rhythm that satisfied them both and he pulled Chanyeol back into a heated kiss, he whined high in his throat when Chanyeol rocked harshly back into him and then felt his larger hand wrap around his dick and give him a few cursory strokes that made Baekhyun roll his hips up.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Chanyeol hissed out when Baekhyun squeezed around him for a brief second, he cracked an eye open again and still had his teeth gritted as he thrusted into Baekhyun a little more frantically, listening to his human’s cries get needier until he heard Baekhyun gasping his name, feeling the human’s nails dig into his shoulder blades, legs tightening around his waist as he came, and Chanyeol thrust into him harder a couple more times until he had spent himself as well.

Baekhyun shook as Chanyeol leaned over him, resting on his forearm as their foreheads touched, he was shakily running one hand through Chanyeol’s hair and kissing him softly, he moaned when he even felt Chanyeol’s dick twitch from within him, he pulled back and gave him a soft grin, “You’re quick to get it back up.”

“Baekhyun, I haven’t had sex in two years, not even being able to jerk off, so yea,” Chanyeol responded and went back to kissing the human back into silence before Baekhyun could poke fun at him for his dead sex drive.   

As Chanyeol went back to kissing at his neck after slowly pulling out of him—it was almost enough to rile Baekhyun back up from the sensation—Baekhyun merely clung to Chanyeol like clingwrap, keeping the vampire trapped between his legs, which, he knew that Chanyeol could have easily gotten away, but it made him feel good to know that the taller was happy to remain where he was.  “Could I ride you, next time?” he questioned the vampire, voice still breathy and felt Chanyeol freeze.  He shivered as Chanyeol’s cool, but clearly now ragged breath brushed against the cooling sweat on his skin.

“You’re trying to literally kill me,” Chanyeol groaned, tucking his face into Baekhyun’s neck, breathing him in. 

Baekhyun grinned cheekily, “You know it’s one of my favorite things to do to you, it’s tied with you loosing your cool sometimes and pinning me up against walls.”

Chanyeol’s throat bobbed at the memories when Baekhyun had purposely riled him up because his boyfriend had been a cheeky little shit and only acted up when he knew that one of them were going to have the house to themselves.  He squeezed his arms around Baekhyun, listening to his stuttered breath, “I can’t be too rough with you now, I might hurt you,” he warned as he pulled off the used condom and moved to drop it into his waste basket at the foot of his bed.

“Is it hot if I ask you to be a little rough?” Baekhyun asked breathlessly as Chanyeol was back to kissing him until he was dizzy.  His nails slid down the vampire’s arms when Chanyeol pushed back into him and Baekhyun tilted his head back and moaned and felt Chanyeol’s fingers grip his hips tightly as he fucked into him, “ _Fuck!_ ” Baekhyun gasped.

“No rougher than this,” Chanyeol panted; he thought he was sweating, but it was just Baekhyun’s blood being processed through his body.  He let go of Baekhyun and leaned over him, pounding into him relentlessly and he felt Baekhyun cling back onto him, practically sobbing out his name.

Baekhyun didn’t even need his dick to be touched when he came again, he felt Chanyeol come in him just moments later and Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol back into a messy, slightly frantic kiss; emotions running high and he merely wanted to be wrapped up in his lover.

Chanyeol pulled back to just look at Baekhyun, drinking in the sight of his human, the rosy cheeks, his lips all puffy and bruised, Chanyeol wanted to kiss him more, which Chanyeol happily did. 

 Baekhyun let out a soft whine in the kiss when Chanyeol pulled out of him again, but was happy that the vampire continued to kiss him, he pulled back to breathe and Chanyeol moved along to kiss and nip at his neck, “I’m so exhausted,” he whispered, completely sated.

“Then sleep, I’ll wake you with time to get you to your place so you can get ready for work,” Chanyeol promised.

“I took tomorrow off,” Baekhyun informed him, he gave him a sleepy grin, “for all the more fun.”

Chanyeol was grinning as he shook his head, “You’re wild.”

“Only for you, _baby_ ,” Baekhyun trilled the affectionate term and listened to Chanyeol laugh.  He wiggled a bit as Chanyeol situated them, pulling the covers over the both of them, letting himself become the little spoon; he was very comfortable with Chanyeol pushed up against his back, loved the sturdy weight of the vampire’s arm around him, even the somewhat cool breath against his neck wasn’t unwelcome

Baekhyun felt a deep satisfaction and peacefulness that sleep claimed him much faster than usual and he was a little begrudgingly accepting it as he wanted to stay awake a little longer to talk to Chanyeol, dozing off no matter how much he tried to remain awake, lulled off by Chanyeol’s soft petting of his thumb against Baekhyun’s stomach.

The vampire sensed that Baekhyun had fully succumbed to sleep and Chanyeol let himself fall into a meditative trance, but still aware of Baekhyun nestled in his hold, the warmth that seeped into his own cold skin was soothing; he almost felt alive again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on wrapping this whole shindig up in a chapter or so, dunno yet...I mean, I don't want to drag it out :/

Wakefulness came slowly to Baekhyun the following morning, he was warm and comfortable, he blinked heavily before just letting his eyes remain shut and basked in the hold of his lover as the morning light peeked through the small divide between Chanyeol’s curtains.

“Does sunlight hurt?” Baekhyun groggily asked suddenly.  “I mean…constant exposure.”

Chanyeol chuckled softly, “No.”

“But you’ll never tan again?” Baekhyun almost sounded woeful.

“Unfortunately, I will never tan again,” Chanyeol confirmed and heard Baekhyun sigh.

“I guess I don’t mind, I never could; I just burn,” Baekhyun mumbled.  He was surprised that Chanyeol wasn’t actually paler, but had a faux healthy hue when he drank blood; he remembered that Chanyeol actually had a warm skin tone when he had fed from the other donors.

“We can be pale together,” Chanyeol mused, nuzzling the back of Baekhyun’s neck.  He felt Baekhyun wiggled around until the human could tuck his head under Chanyeol’s chin and felt him exhale softly, “You can sleep longer, it’s fairly early,” he murmured. 

He had heard his mother quietly shuffling about downstairs and she hadn’t poked her head into his bedroom either, given she most likely saw Baekhyun’s shoes and coat were downstairs, so he was thankful that his mother was giving them privacy.

“Don’t want to leave you bored,” Baekhyun murmured, pressing his lips lightly to Chanyeol’s bare chest.  He felt Chanyeol kiss the top of his head and Baekhyun felt his stomach flip happily from the affection.

“Want to shower then?” Chanyeol offered, kissing Baekhyun’s shoulder softly.

“Oh, do I smell bad?” Baekhyun blinked and he had temporarily forgotten that Chanyeol had enhanced smell, as his partner was warm against him and his eyes weren’t dark, but they were the normal shade of brown that Baekhyun remembered. 

“No, quite the opposite,” Chanyeol grinned; he felt his fangs were starting to drop and he immediately felt Baekhyun carefully poking the smooth top of his fang, rather than the sharp point like he had done before.

Baekhyun still found it crazy, yet insanely attractive and he lowkey worried that he was becoming a monster-fucker, but he decidedly pushed that shame train away to mindlessly poke at Chanyeol’s left fang, “You’re like a different breed of shark,” he muttered.

Chanyeol jerked back with a sudden laugh and saw Baekhyun pouting at him, “I mean, you’re not wrong,” he chuckled.  “I thirst for blood and can expose my fangs when I’m ready to bite.”

“It’d be more ridiculous if you had told me that you were half shark or something,” Baekhyun replied.  “Can animals even become vampires?” he asked him.

“Uh, I don’t know…I don’t think it’d be a good idea to test that though, the world doesn’t need vampire squirrels or whatever else a vampire tries to test on,” Chanyeol had already encountered aggressive squirrels when he had been human, he doesn’t need a repeat of that if said critters can accept the bite. 

Baekhyun nodded thoughtfully, as if it were a serious topic, but he was still feeling like he was half asleep and made himself sit up when Chanyeol pulled himself off the bed to pull on a pair of sleep pants, which he also grabbed pair for Baekhyun as well.

“My mom is downstairs, so don’t worry about thinking that you’re too indecent or something,” Chanyeol mused.  He heard Baekhyun scoff at him for that, “Oh, right, you’ve corrupted my poor umma because you had strut around in just your boxers before!”  
“To be fair, the only times I had done that was when I had been sleepwalking and the other was when you told me that your mom wasn’t going to be home, but then she actually was,” Baekhyun defended himself.

Chanyeol pursed his lips before nodding, “Fine, you’re not a pervert.”

Baekhyun slapped Chanyeol’s arm, “You’re the pervert,” he grumbled.

To which, Chanyeol wanted to argue about that, but they both had been rather daring when they had been teenagers, controlled by hormones and a greatly mutual attraction to each other, so it was only a given factor that they’d mess around any given chance; Chanyeol still felt that urge now, especially now, since he had fed from Baekhyun.

“Let’s go shower,” Baekhyun nudged him.  “And use this time for morning shower sex, because you’re clearly reminiscing about something interesting,” his eyes trailed down to the tent in Chanyeol’s night pants.

Chanyeol wordlessly snatched Baekhyun by the wrist and practically dragged him to the hall shower and shut and locked the door, crowding Baekhyun up against the bathroom sink.  He messily kissed Baekhyun, sucking on his bottom lip for a long moment before pulling away and listened to the human’s gasp and had to steady him as Baekhyun moved to follow him, “Turning the shower on, so there’s at least some background noise,” he explained, remembered that the door was flimsy and you didn’t have to be near it to hear things coming from the other side.

“Don’t waste water,” Baekhyun chided him and stripped.  “Shower sex is called that for a reason and not to make out on the outside of the bath when it’s running.”

Chanyeol hummed in agreement against Baekhyun’s lips before pulling away to push down his sleep pants and followed Baekhyun into the shower and kept Baekhyun up against the tile, feeling a shiver roll through the human, “Sorry,” he whispered against Baekhyun’s lips, moving down to kiss along his neck; the steam was already starting to become stifling for him, especially when it made Baekhyun’s scent more prominent, causing him to groan softly against Baekhyun’s throat, tracing the pulse with his tongue.

“You’re enjoy that a bit too much, don’t’cha think?” Baekhyun’s question was breathy and he arched his back as Chanyeol squeezed his thighs and rocked slowly against him, the shower water eased the glide.  He kissed Chanyeol, wincing slightly as his tongue caught the sharp edge of Chanyeol’s fang and his eyes fluttered shut when Chanyeol sucked on his tongue slowly, drawing out the kiss.

Chanyeol jerked away first when he heard his mother coming up the stairs and he saw Baekhyun’s confused look, “Uh, heard my umma,” he murmured.  “Panicked for a second,” he chuckled nervously and heard Baekhyun laugh too.  He kissed Baekhyun’s cheek, “Sorry, false alarm.”

“All right, let’s get back to it,” Baekhyun mused, “before the water get cold.”

Chanyeol grinned into the kiss; he’d be sure to pay his Umma’s water and gas bills anyway.

~~~

Chanyeol’s mother wisely didn’t say anything, she simply greeted the couple and offered them coffee and breakfast that they happily thanked her for accepted; she didn’t even question it when Baekhyun basically ate off Chanyeol’s plate too.

It was nice to listen to his boyfriend— _again—_ and his mother catchup over a post breakfast tea, it extra relieving to see a genuine smile on Baekhyun’s face, the air around him was softer, somehow the air _tasted_ lighter.

The kitchen was filled with laughter and Chanyeol wanted to cuddle Baekhyun close to him, seeing his round cheeks growing pink with happiness and he could only stare like a lovestruck fool, even when Baekhyun was simply helping wash up the dishes.

His mother thanked him for his help, kissing Baekhyun’s cheeks, “It’s so nice to have you back here, Hyunnie, I’ve missed you so much,” she squeezed lightly at his hands and giggled when Baekhyun’s cheeks turned pink again.  “My boy needs to take you to my café before he leaves!”

Chanyeol’s gaze cut over to Baekhyun, seeing the tenseness in his jaw, before it was forced to relax and Baekhyun gave her a small smile, “Umma, I will, but aren’t you almost late?” he stammered.

“Oh!  I lost track of time!” his mother gasped and quickly hugged both of her boys before wishing them well before hurrying out the door.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Chanyeol murmured when he saw the dull look in Baekhyun’s eyes, the shield that the human was dragging around himself to try to stop the hurt.  “Kris will understand, he will allow me to move here.”

“I don’t want you to give up on your dreams,” Baekhyun told him, a frown on his lips and he saw that it only made Chanyeol look sad too. 

“I wouldn’t be,” Chanyeol protested.  “I’ve accomplished my dreams and I still do that from here, not to brag, but you know that I have fans here too, I can easily produce music living here.”

“But…you’re so far from your…creator,” Baekhyun looked awkward saying that he saw the flush rush up Chanyeol’s face.  “I don’t want to do that to you.”

“I’m not dependent on him, he only turned me, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol’s face was still pink.  “Besides, if I need him, he’s only a text or call away.”

Baekhyun nodded a little hesitantly at that; he still was worried that Chanyeol would regret moving here, even if he knew that it wasn’t just for Baekhyun’s sake, but the selfishness part of him hoped that he would be enough for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol cupped his face, “You’re worrying over nothing, I promise you.  I will tell you that be moving here will take a little time.”

“Yea, you’re moving back from a different country,” Baekhyun mused and saw Chanyeol smile too.  “I can wait for you.”

“I won’t make you wait long,” Chanyeol kissed him and felt Baekhyun’s arms wrap around his neck to keep him close.  “I love you,” he whispered when they pulled back, he saw the familiar warmth come back to Baekhyun’s gaze.

“I love you too,” Baekhyun said softly and the happy flush that colored Chanyeol’s cheeks and the bright smile made Baekhyun’s heart flutter.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well....this is it. A crap ending because I'm very bad at them. I will probably write a bonus chapter or two, I'm just very busy right now.
> 
> I am starting a new ChanBaek project, but it's too new to post anything, I like to have at least 5-10 chapters pre-written so I don't fall behind on updates and it gives me a little break when I have everything typed and can actually focus and think of a plot, versus being caught up to date "I've got to write this down, RIGHT NOW!" and slap the keyboard around.  
> *Staring at Sanguine Dusk/SD staring back at me, waiting for something to happen*

Life of course continued, but Baekhyun felt it was easier getting through each passing day, the weekend had come and gone, he and his roommates and Chanyeol, plus his mom and sister and nephew went to the holiday festival at the end of November.

He was at work when he going through his photos on his phone and he chuckled to himself when he had captured the moment when Chanyeol and Jongdae both got cool whip pies to the face by Minseok and managed to get a video of Jongdae chasing his boyfriend around and the video ended up looking like a horror movie when Baekhyun started to run because Chanyeol wiped the cream from his face and came charging at Baekhyun. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.”

Baekhyun jumped at the voice and saw Sehun leaning against the doorframe leading into his office, “God, you’re so quiet, at least before you _tried_ to blend in like a normal, bumbling human.”

“You talk like you aren’t one,” Sehun commented, closing the door behind him to sit on the couch. 

“Well, I’m currently dating a supernatural creature and friends slash co-workers with one,” Baekhyun reminded him and saw Sehun roll his eyes at him.  “Maybe my happiness needed something that wasn’t normal for once.”

“I’m at least glad it’s you,” Sehun confessed.  “Speaking of him,” Sehun tilted his head at the office door that was knocked on and then pushed open and Chanyeol was peeking in.  “Stop glaring, he’s not even my type,” he sighed.

Chanyeol wasn’t going to comment that now that Baekhyun was aware of what they were, Sehun seemed to linger around, but he just assumed it was because now Sehun didn’t have to constantly worry about being discovered or fake being human around Baekhyun anymore.

“You’re being all fidgety, Yeollie,” Baekhyun commented when he saw that Chanyeol was anxiously standing in the doorway.  He knew why Chanyeol was behaving as such and to be completely honest, Baekhyun felt a little anxious too; Chanyeol was leaving back to California in a few days and Chanyeol was behaving in a clingy manner, not that Baekhyun minded.

Chanyeol gave him a meek apologetic smile and stepped into Baekhyun’s office, “Did you have your lunch break yet?” he asked his boyfriend.

“No,” Baekhyun glanced at his watch, it was a quarter after 12 and he saved his work.  “What sounds good other than me?” he wiggled his eyebrows and heard Sehun groan loudly.

“I’m on a strict diet of you,” Chanyeol mused and saw Sehun roll his eyes to high heaven.  “I’m stealing him for the next hour,” he stated as he snatched Baekhyun’s coat and helped put it on him before zipping his jacket up.

“By the gods, you are literally the most lovey-dovey couple I have witnessed and even though I have a Siren, I still feel like I’m single,” Sehun stated with a stricken expression.

“Sounds like a _you problem_ and some people need extra love and I’m happy to give it all to Baekhyun,” Chanyeol shrugged and guided his human to the door.

“Later!” Baekhyun tossed over his shoulder and happily laced his fingers with Chanyeol’s; they weren’t so cold these days.  He picked a fast food chain for lunch and managed to snag a window booth, he slid into the bench across from Chanyeol and sipped at his drink, gazing outside, the sky was a bleak gray and fresh snow had fallen the night before; Baekhyun really wanted to be curled up in bed right now binging all sorts of movies and make out with his boyfriend during the boring parts.

The tray being sat down in front of him had Baekhyun jumping slightly and he heard Chanyeol apologize for startling him, Baekhyun shrugged it off and stuffed some fresh fries into his mouth, sighing happily at the taste.

“You might be craving salty foods for a few days,” Chanyeol looked sheepish.  “I should only limit myself to feeding from you maybe once every few weeks.”

Baekhyun took a drink of his soda to wash it down, “Why?  It’s not hurting me and it definitely isn’t hurting you, just by looking at you, you look like a lively person,” he stated and he wasn’t wrong, Chanyeol’s cheeks were flush and full, instead of sallow and sunken, his eyes looked warm again, versus void black they had been previously, and not to mention that Chanyeol was warm and not an icebox, really, the only way someone would know that Chanyeol wasn’t alive was if he fanged out or if someone tried to find a pulse.

“It’s not good for you,” Chanyeol replied.  “You could start to get sick and don’t argue with me on this, I _know_ what limits need to be set,” he said when Baekhyun looked ready to protest. 

“Fine,” Baekhyun huffed and ate his cheeseburger, he saw Chanyeol sip his drink out of habit, but most of his attention was trained on him.  “What?” he mumbled around a mouthful.

“Nothing,” Chanyeol shook his head, a soft blush coming to his face.  At Baekhyun’s pointed stare, the vampire sighed in defeat, “I just never thought I’d ever see you again.”

Baekhyun tilted his head slightly and saw Chanyeol’s eyes soften at the action, “What do you mean?”

“I literally never imagined us together again, after the way you looked at me the first time in six years,” Chanyeol replied.  “I’m just glad that we worked it out, is all.”

The gentle relief in Chanyeol’s voice had Baekhyun’s face feeling a little warmer and Baekhyun looked down at his fries to avoid the warm, yet serious look Chanyeol was giving him, “Me too,” Baekhyun whispered.

“And I’ll be back before you can miss me,” Chanyeol’s cheeky grin was there and he easily snapped the fry in midair with his mouth that Baekhyun threw at him in embarrassment.

“You’ll probably miss me more,” Baekhyun retorted, puffing his cheeks slightly.

“Yea,” Chanyeol agreed, his smile all soft again, “you’re certainly right about that.”

Baekhyun thought Chanyeol was being too sweet in the middle of McDonald’s and hastily finished his lunch; he could use the remaining fifteen minutes in his office to make sure he let Chanyeol know _how much_ he was going to miss him.

~~~

It was like a flashback, standing in that same exact airport, but Baekhyun was no longer eighteen and wasn’t ending his relationship with Chanyeol this time; it was just goodbye for a little while, but even that made Baekhyun’s heart hurt.

“Hey,” Chanyeol murmured, tilting Baekhyun’s chin up to have the shorter look up at him; he was happy that they were having a somewhat private moment, there were people rushing by, but they weren’t being flanked by fans and Chanyeol was grateful for that.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologized softly, cheeks coloring in his shame.  “I shouldn’t be so clingy, I know you’re coming back.”

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry for anything, if I didn’t have to go back and it could be done over the phone, I’d do it,” Chanyeol promised.

“In a heartbeat?” Baekhyun joked dryly.

“Well…then you’d probably be waiting for a long time, so how about in a blink of an eye?” Chanyeol suggested to him, laughing softly at Baekhyun’s pout.  He leaned into kiss Baekhyun softly, tasting the sweetness of the cream from the coffee Baekhyun had at Chanyeol’s mother’s café.  It had been hilarious because it had been Baekhyun’s first time in there, he was a little afraid of café as it was jus a whole shop that was practically a Chanyeol shrine and there had been a little bit of a crowd.

Baekhyun hadn’t been too particularly happy about having to share Chanyeol and he had to fake an impassive expression, greeting school girls and boys when they curiously asked who he was as they waited to get an autograph and a picture, as Chanyeol allowed it.  He did admit to himself that he was happy that Chanyeol had such a respectful fanbase and didn’t overwhelm him and it was so nice to see Chanyeol so thankful and happy to be greeted and praised for all his hard work.

“I’m selfish,” Baekhyun suddenly blurted, pulled from the event and he was now back in the airport and he saw Chanyeol’s baffled expression.  “I love seeing you so happy with your fans and when you’re out doing performances on stage, but at the same time, I want to keep you home and cuddled up to you in a giant blanket, tucked away from the rest of the world.”

That was another bridge they were going to have to cross soon; Chanyeol’s hectic schedule.

“I promise to sit down and work a proper schedule where I’m not away for so long, and I’ll ask Kris to help with that,” Chanyeol promised.  “I may get a bit of a longer break because I’m moving back here and I can drop a couple songs onto my Soundcloud as apology to my fans for being so distant.”

Baekhyun nodded, shakily inhaling before looking up at Chanyeol, “I’ll wait for you, maybe a little impatiently, but I’ll wait.  You’ve been patient with me, I can at least return the favor.”

Chanyeol sighed quietly and stroked Baekhyun’s cheek softly, “It’s not a chore, Baekhyun, no matter what that nagging voice in your head says to you, it’s wrong and I love you so very much, I’ll be there for you as long as you’ll have me.”

“Even when I’m sick and dying?” Baekhyun’s voice wavered slightly; this was another fear of his, he was afraid that Chanyeol would let him live out his mortal life, grow gray, and then die of age or illness, whatever got him first.

“Even if you make it to that point,” Chanyeol murmured; his relationship with Baekhyun was still so new and fresh again, the both of them had baggage that they were still trying to sort out and Chanyeol didn’t want to do anything reckless if it mean that Baekhyun was going to resent him for it.  He cupped Baekhyun’s face softly and touched their foreheads together, “One day, we will have a proper conversation…about your human status, but for now, please don’t worry about it, I know you will regardless, but we will talk about it.”

Baekhyun nodded compliantly, “Sorry, I tend to ruin the mood with my internal struggles.”

“Don’t apologize, never be sorry for what you can’t control, but…I do think it’ll help if you start seeing your therapist again, just something to think about, you don’t have to make a decision now,” Chanyeol suggested, smiling softly and kissed Baekhyun’s forehead. 

The shorter nodded again, a thoughtful expression on his face.  Baekhyun made himself relax, “I’m probably going to make you miss your flight,” Baekhyun told him, pulling back slightly.

Chanyeol still stole him back close and kissed Baekhyun, peppering his face and listened to Baekhyun squeak and he laughed, “I wouldn’t mind it, but I know your roommates are lurking not so inconspicuously, may I add,” he glanced over Baekhyun’s head and saw the two sitting a couple’s table, peering over a shared menu at them with sunglasses on.  “They would probably try to shoo me off and away and steal you from me.”

They both ducked when Baekhyun turned around to see where Chanyeol was looking.  He sighed quietly, “Sorry about them,” Baekhyun apologetically murmured; his roommates still got a bit protective of him, even after he thought everything was mended.

“They’re good friends, I don’t fault them…I just hope they’ll completely trust me before they get gray hair,” Chanyeol sighed and heard Baekhyun laugh softly.  He gazed down at him softly, “I won’t hold you up much longer, just know that I’ll be back here in maybe a week, okay?”

“One week, Park,” Baekhyun held out his pinky and smiled when Chanyeol interlocked their pinkies.  “I’ll be here waiting when you land.”

“I hope so,” Chanyeol smiled and kissed Baekhyun one last time.

He made it through security and waved goodbye to Baekhyun, who had regrouped with his friends, Chanyeol waved goodbye to them and was happy that they responded, he heard Jongdae say that they’d take care of Baekhyun and keep him too busy to miss him much.

Chanyeol hoped so, but not too busy that they couldn’t contact each other.

As he walked towards his gate, the white noise of mindless chatter and footsteps around Chanyeol wasn’t so deafening this time, he focused on the one sound that eased Chanyeol and listened to the soft heartbeat until he couldn’t hear it anymore after boarding the plane.  He felt his phone vibrate before he put it on airplane mode and smiled softly.

_Come back to me safely.  I love you, Yeollie!_

Chanyeol would, he’d return to Korea once more, but this time returning to the one person who made him feel human again, the one person who had broken his heart, but put it back together again.

_No matter where, nor how far apart, they will be happy together._

Chanyeol closed his eyes; he’d be back with Baekhyun before he knew it, starting a whole new chapter of his immortal life and he was eager to start writing it in lyric form.


End file.
